PERKINS  LIBRARY 

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Kare  books 

e^ 

v-     ■ 
/ 

THREE    YEARS 

TRAVELS 

THROUGH    TH£ 

INTERIOR  PARTS 

O  F 

NORTH-AMERICA, 

FOR    MORE    THAN 

FIVE    THOUSAND    MILES; 

CONTAINING 

An  Account  of  the  great  Lakes,  and  all  the  Lakes.  Islands, 
and  Rivers,  Cataracts,  Mountains,  Minerals, 
Soil  and  Vegetable  Productions  of  the  North- 
West  Regions  of  that  vast  Continent  ; 

W  I  T  H      A 

DESCRIPTION  of  the  BIRDS,  BEASTS, 
REPTILES,  INSECTS,  and  FISHES 

PECULIAR    TO  THE  COUNTRY.     ,; 
TOGETHER  WITH    A    C0NCISE 

HISTORY  of  the  GENIUS,  MANNERS,  and  CUSTOMS 

OF    THE     INDIANS     INHABITING     THE    LANDS    THAT    LIE 
ADJACENT  TO  THE   HEADS  AND  TO  THE  WESTWARD 
\  OP    THE     GREAT     RIVER    MISSISSIPPI; 

v   Q  A  N    D      A  N 

APPENDIX, 

Describing  the  uncultivated  parts  of  AMERICA  that 

ARE  THE  MOST   PROPER  FOR  FORMING   SETTLEMENTS. 


By  Captain   JONATHAN   CARVER, 

OF  THE  PROVINCIAL    TROOPS     IN    AMERICA, 


PHILADELPHIA: 
Published   by  -  KEY  k  SIMPSON ;— 1796, 


I    ...  LI1     ■  .'41  ■  X     B 


f sn     /fa  4 
JOSEPH   B  ANKS,  Eqf. 


PRESIDENT 


O  F    T  H  E 


ROYAL    SOCIETY. 


S  I  R, 


HEN  the  Public  are  in- 
formed that  I  have  long  had  the  Ho- 
nor of  your  Acquaintance — that  my 
defign  in  publifhing  the  following 
Work  has  received  your  San£tion — 
that  the  Compofition  of  it  has  flood 
the  Teft  of  your  Judgment— and  that 
it  is  by  your  Permiffion,  a  Name  fo 
defer vedly  eminent  in  the  Literary- 
World  is  prefixed  to  it,  I  need   not 


D  I  C  A  T  I  O  N. 


be  apprehenfive  of  its  Succefs;  as  your 
Patronage  will  unqueftionably  give 
them  Affurance  of  its  Merit. 

For  this  public  Teftimony  of  your 
Favor,  in  which  I  pride  myfelf,  ac- 
cept, Sir,  my  moft  grateful  Acknow- 
ledgments ;  and  believe  me  to  be: 
with  great  Refpe£t, 

Your  obedient, 

humble  Servant, 

J.  CARVER. 


§ 


A  N 

ADDRESS 

T  O    T  H  E 
PUBLIC. 


J[  HE  favorable  reception  this  Work  has 
met  with*  claims  the  Author's  mofl  grateful  ac- 
knowledgments. A  large  edition  having  run  off 
in  a  few  months,  and  the  fale  appearing  to  be  flill 
unabated,  a  new  impreflion  is  become  necefTary. 
On  this  occafion  was  he  to  conceal  his  feelings,  and 
pafs  over  in  filence,  a  diftinction  fo  beneficial  and 
flattering,  he  would  juftly  incur  the  imputation  of 
ingratitude.  That  he  might  not  do  this,  he  takes 
the  opportunity,  which  now  prefents  itfelf,  of  con- 
veying to  the  Public  (though  in  terms  inadequate 
to  the  warm  emotions  of  his  heart)  the  fenfe  he  en- 
tertains of  their  favor;  and  thus  tranfmits  to  them 
his  thanks. 

In  this  new  edition,  care  has  been  taken  to  rectify 
thofe  errors  which  have  unavoidably  proceeded 
from  the  hurry  of  the  prefs,  and  likewife  any  in- 
correclnefs  in  th^  language  that  has  found  its  way 
into  it. 

The  credibility  offomeof  the  incidents  related  in 
the  following  pages,  and  fome  of  the  ftories  intro- 
duced therein,  having  been  queflioned,  particularly 


ri  ADDRESS. 

the  prognoftication  of  the  Indian  prieft  on  the  banks 
of  Lake  Superior,  and  the  ftory  of  the  Indian  and 
his  rattle  fnake,  the  author  thinks  it  neceffary  to 
avail  himfelf  of  the  fame  opportunity,  to  endeavour 
to  eradicate  any  imprefTions  that  might  have  been 
made  on  the  minds  of  his  readers,  by  the  apparent 
improbability  of  thefe  relations. 

As  to  the  former,  he  has  related  it  juft  as  it  hap- 
pened. Being  an  eye-witnefs  to  the  whole  trans- 
action (and,  he  flatcers  himfelf,  at  the  time,  free 
from  every  trace  of  fceptical  obftinacy  or  enthufiaftic 
credulity)  he  was  confequently  able  to  defcribe  every 
circumftance  minutely  and  impartially.  This  he  has 
done  ;  but  without  endeavouring  to  account  for  the 
means  by  which  it  was  accomplifhed.  Whether 
the  prediction  was  the  refult  of  prior  obfervations, 
from  which  certain  confequences  were  expected  to 
follow  by  the  fagacious  prieft,  and  the  completion 
of  it  merely  accidental ;  or  whether  he  was  really 
endowed  with  fupernatural  powers,  the  narrator  left 
to  the  judgment  of  his  readers;  whofe  conclufions, 
he  fuppofes,  varied  according  as  the  mental  faculties 
of  each  were  difpofed  to  admit  or  reject  facts  that 
cannot  be  accounted  for  by  natural  caufes. 

The  ftory  of  the  rattle  fnake  was  related  to  him 
by  a  French  gentleman  of  undoubted  veracity;  and 
were  the  readers  of  this  work  as  thoroughly  acquaint- 
ed with  the  fagacity,  and  inftinctive  proceedings  of 
that  animal,  as  he  is,  they  would  be  as  well  allured 
of  the  truth  of  it.  It  is  well  known  that  thofe  fnakes 
which  have  iurvived  through  the  fcurimer  the  acci- 
dents reptiles  are  liable  to,  periodically  retire  to  the 
woods,  at  the  approach  of  winter;  where  each  (as 
curious  pbfervers  have  remarked)  take  pofTeflion  of 
the  cavity  it  had  occupied  the  preceding  year.  As 
Ebon  as  the  feafon  k  propitious,  enlivened  by  the 


ADDRESS. 


vii 


invigorating  rays  of  the  fun,  they  leave  thefe  re- 
treats, and  make  their  way  to  the  fame  fpot, 
though  ever  fo  diftant,  on  which  they  before  had 
found  fubfiftence,  and  the  means  of  propagating  their 
fpecies.  Does  it  then  require  any  extraordinary 
exertions  of  the  mind  to  believe,  that  one  of  thefe 
regular  creatures,  after  having  been  kindly  treated 
by  its  mailer,  mould  return  to  the  box,  in  which  it 
had  ufually  been  fupplied  with  food,  and  had  met 
with  a  comfortable  abode,  and  that  nearly  about  the 
time  the  Indian,  from  former  experiments,  was  able 
to  guefs  at.  It  certainly  does  not;  nor  will  the  li- 
beral and  ingenious  doubt  the  truth  of  aftory  fo  well 
authenticated,  becaufe  the  circumftances  appear  ex- 
traordinary in  a  country  where  the  fubjedt  of  it  is 
fcarcely  known. 

Thefe  explanations  the  author  hopes  will  fuffice 
to  convince  his  readers,  that  he  has  not,  as  travel- 
lers are  fometimes  fuppofed  to  do,  amufed  them 
with  improbable  tales,  or  wifhed  to  acquire  im- 
portance by  making  his  adventures  favor  of  the 
marvellous. 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES, 


Hall  John 

Hamilton  Charles,  Wil- 
mington D. 

Hanlon  Thomas 

Harbefon  Jofeph 

Harkin  Thomas 

Harrell  James 

Harper  Benjamin 

Harrifonjun.  William 

Hardy  T. 

Harvey  Sampfon 

Harvey  Alexander,  New 
Caftle  B. 

Hafiinger  Chriftopher 

Hatrick  Matthew- 
Hayes  John 

Hawkins  William 

Hazelton  Peter 

Helm  John 

Hemple  Chriftian 

Heming  Samuel 

Henderfon  John 

Henderfon  Robert 

Henry  William 

Henry  Andrew 

Herbert  Jofeph 

rlera  John 

Hefs  Nioholas 

Hefs  Adam 


He  (ion  Levi 
Heyl  John 
Heyl  Philip 
Hill  John 
Hill  Jacob 
Hochner  John 
Hoffman  Jacob 
Hoffman  Daniel 
Hoffner  Jacob 
Holmes  William 
Holmes  John 
Holmes  William 
Holland  Benjamin 
Homes  James 
Hood  john 
Hoops  jun.  Anthony- 
Hook  John 
Horn  Benjamin 
Horton  Jeffe 
Hough  Ifaac 
Houfe  Peter 
Howell    M.     tVilmingUv 

D. 
Huber  Henry 
Hudner  John 
Hudfon  William 
Huff  John 
Huff  Jacob 
Hughes  John 


8  U  B  S C  R  I  B  E  R  S'    NAMES. 


Humphreys  Aftieton 
Huron  Laurence 
Kuiiey  Maurice 
Hutchinion  Charles 


fng  Thomas 
Innes  John  m 

Inftant  Alexander 


Hutton  Thomas 
Hutts  john 
Hutton  Nathaniel 
Hvmer  Adam 


I 


Irving  David 
Ives  John 


j 


Jackfbn  John 
Jack-ion  B.  Richard 
James  John,    Wihnhigtcn 

D. 
James  Edward 
James  Robert,   Trenton 
Jamefon  John 
Janney  Thomas' 
January  William 
Janier  John 
Jaquett    P.   John,  h 

Caftle  D. 
Jaquett  jun.  Peter,  Chrij- 

tiana  Bridge. 
John  Iiaac 
johnfon  Jacob 
Johnfon  Jeremiah 


johnfon  Richard 
johnfon  David 
johnfon  Jonathan 
Johnfon  Jofeph 
Johnfon  John 
Johniton  David 
Johnflon  William 
Johnfton  William 
johnfton  John 
Jones  Gilbert 
Jones  Samuel 
Jones  John,    Wilmington 

D. 
Jones  John 
Jcnes  Edward 
Jones  Robert 
Jones  Marshall 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES. 

Jones  Amos,  IVilnihigt^n     Jones  pn.  Philip 

D.  -  Joy  Abfalom 

Jones  Jonathan  ]<-,yce  Th&ififtS 


Kane  John 

Kay  Jcfeph 

Kean  John 

Keen  John 

Keffer  John 

Keller  George 

Kelley  Thomas 

Kelley  Hugh 

Kelfey  C.  John 

Kellar  George 

Kendall  James,  V/ihihg- 

ton  D. 
Kennedy  John 
Kerlin  George,  Wilrring- 

icn  D. 


Key   Michael,    Wih.tirg- 

ten  D. 
Keys  AJ|^h;:n. 
Kid  Robert 
lumber  JerTe 
Kinfton  J.  Thomas 
Kiffclman  S.    Frederick 
Klein  Abraham 
Knerr  Henry 
Knight  Thomas 
Knight  William 
Kollock  John 
Kuhl  junr.  Frederick 


La  Combe  John  Dr. 
Lakey  Marmaduke 
Lake  Richard 
I  Laing   Benjamin,  Wil- 
mington D. 
Lamat  John 
.Lancafter,  Thomas 


Lancafter  Joim 
Landers  John,  JVihnir.g- 

ton  D. 
Laning  Jame.s 
Larer  Melchior 
Lamer  Jacob 
Lauck  John 


12, 


S  U  B  S  C  R  I  B  E  R  S'   NAMES. 


Lawrance  Thomas 
Lehman  Samuel 
Lee  Benjamin 
Leedom  Benjamin 
Le  Breton,  Dr. 
Lees  Mary 
Leib  George 
Lentz  jun.  Henry 
Lefh  Peter 
Leflie  Guftavus 
Lewis  A,  John 
Lewis  S.  Jofeph 
Lewis  jun.  Robert 
Levy  Aaron 
Lingwood  H.  L. 
Lin  ten  Jacob 


Lodor  John 
Loir  B.  John 
Longihore  Jolly 
Lotee  Jofeph 
Lorrainjun.  John 
Lownes  James 
Lourg  Peter 
Lowry  Philip 
Loudon  John 
Ludwig  Chriftopher 
Luke   John,    JVihningtwn 

D. 
Lufhal  John 
Lyons  Eneas 
Lyndall  Benjamin 
Lytfc  Thomas 


M 


Macferran  Samuel 
Madan  Patrick, 
Magens  Tho :   Ghrifliana 

Ferry, 
Maddock  Jeile 
Malin  John 
Malvy  Charles 
Mann  William 
Manning  William 
Marfhall  Abraham 
Martin  John 
Marqnedant  Charier 


MarfhaJ  Robert 
Mafon  William 
Matter  William 
Maybeny  John 
Mayers  Philip 
M<  Allefter  Mary 
M'  Aipin  James 
Mf  Arthur  Daniel 
Mf  Calla  Andrew 
Mc  Caila  David 
Mf  Clain  Thomas 
M(  Cleay  Charlc  r 


SUBSCRIBER  S'    NAMES. 


13 


Mc  Clentick  William 
Mc  Clenaghan  Michael 
Mf  Colm  John 
Mc  Crea  Archibald 
Mc  Cutchon  James 
Mc  Cutchon  Samuel 
Mf  DonnellLan. 
M'Donnald  Malcolm 
Mc  Dowell  Hugh 
M'Feely  Edward 
Mc  Grath  James 
'McIlham  Peter 
McIntirejohn 
M*  II wham  Thomas 
Mc  Kay  James 
Mc  Karaker  Daniel 
Mc  Kenzie  John 
Mc  Keever  John 
M(  Keever  Neal 
M<  Kinley  Alexander 
M'Kiflick  John 
Mf  Lachlan  Donald 
Mf  Leod  Malcom 
M(  Mahon  William 
Mf  Neal  John 
M«  Neil  John 
Mc  Nuky  John 
M<  Phail  William 
Meade  John 
Mearns  James 
Mee  Samuel 


MehafTy  Robert 
MefTcnger  Simon 
Meyers  Henry 
Miller  Jacob 
Miller  John 
Miller  Martin 
Miller  Jofeph 
Miller  Robert 
Miller  William 
Miles  Thomas 
Miles  jun.  Samuel 
Miles  Samuel 
Milner  L. 
Mitchell  Thomas 
Moloy  M.  Chkkeley 
Moliry  Adolphus 
Mooney  William 
Moore  William 
Moore  Eli  ill  a 
Moore  John 
Moore  Alexander 
Moore  Charles 
Morrelljohn 
Morris  John 
Morrifon  George 
Morrifcn  John 
Morgan  Enoch 
Mofer  Lowis  Charles 
Muner  Philip 
Murray  A. 


u 


SUBSCRIBERS1    NAMES. 


Murray  John,    Ckriftiana     Murphy  John- 


Ferry,  4  cc-pies. 
Murfin  Wiliiam 
Murphy  Henry 
Murphy  Michael 
Murphy  Daniel 


Nagle  Maurice 
Naglee  David 
Napier  Alexander 
Napier  John 
Napier  Thomas 
Naylor  Benjamin 
Neilen  Andrew 
Nicholas  John 


Oat  Jefle 
O'Brien  Alexander 
O'Brien  Peter 

O'Callaughan  Maurice 
O'Conntr  Myles 
Ogden  John 
Ogden  Hugh 


Mufchert  John 
Mufgrave  Aaroa 
Myers  Laurence 
Myers  Jacob 
Mynich  Jacob 


N 


Nixon  Henry 
Nomy  Andrew 
Norris  James 
North  John 
North  Richard 
Norton  Jonathan 
Norton  George 
Novviin  Matthew 


O 


O'Donnell  James 
Oliver  James 
O'Niel  Patrick 
Orr  Hugh 
Ofter  Jeremiah 
Otley  Abner,  Wilmington 
D. 


Palmer  Richard 
Pafcalis  Dr. 


Patterfon  Robert 
Paterfon  John 


SUBSCRIBER  5'   NAMES. 


lS 


Patterfon  William 

Paul  David 

Peart  Thomas 

Peacock  Ralph 

Peden  Hugh 

Peddle  George 

Peck  John. 

Peck  William 

Pennock  George 

Penlove  Thomas 

Penrofe  Charles 

Pentland  james 

Pepper  William 
•Perine  John 

Perkinpine  David 
.  PeterfonLylof,  Wilming- 
ton D. 
;  Pfeiffer  Jofeph 

Phillips    William,    Wil- 
mington D. 

Phillips  Daniel 

Phillips  Naphtali 

Phillips  John 


Phillips  Thomas 
Pierce  John 
Pierce   Robert 
PifTant  John 
Pitt  jun.  John. 
Piatt  William 
Plin  Jacob 
Plum  George 
Polock  Ifaac 
Potts  M.  George 
Powell  Ifaac 
Powell  William 
Preftcn  Thomas,  Wil- 
mington D. 
Price  William 
Pried  Ifaac 
Prichett  R.  William 
Pritchet  j. 
PritchardD.  James 
Proved  Roderick 
Punton  Thomas 
Purfil  Jofeph 


0. 


'uin  James 


i6 


SUBSCRIBERS1    NAMES. 


=2 


R 


Rabfon  George 
Radley  William 
Ramfay  Alexander 
Rain  John,  3  copies 
Randies  James 
Ramagc  John 
Rarick  Godfrey 
Rawlings  Thomas,  WiU 

Read  George,  Nov 

Cafile,  D. 
Read  Charles 
Rehn  George 
Rehn  John 
Rees  Vvilliam 
Rees  David 
Rcgnaud  A. 
Reid  William 
Reilly  James 
Reilly  John 
Reeve  Elifha 
Relf  William 
Relfe  Richard 
Rennie  George 
Sxynail  S.  Richard 
Rhoads  Charles 
Rhoads  Philip 
Rhoncs  John 
Richards  William 
Richards  JefTe,  Wtlming* 

torty  A 


Richardfon  Ifaac 
Richards  Samuel 
Ricketts  John 
Ricketts  James 
Ridgway  David 
Paevier  John 
Rino:  David 
Rink  John 
Riling  Francis 
Robins  John 
Roberts  George 
Robbins  William 
Robertfon  Alexander 
Robertfon  Charles 
Robertfon  William 
Robefon  James 
Robinfon  Parker 
Robinfon  Richard 
Robinfon  James,  2   co* 

pies. 
Robinfon  William 
Robinfon  Henry 
Robinett  Richard 
Rogers  Thomas 
Rogers  William 
Rogers  Maurice 
Rogers  Robert 
Rogers  Eli 
Rolet  Francois 
Rofs  David 
Rofs  Robert 


CONTENTS.  xvii 


BIRDS. 

The  Eagle.    The  Night  Hawk.    The  Whip- 

perwill,  -  309 

The  Fifh  Hawk.  The  Owl.  The  Crane,  311 

Ducks.  The  Teal.  The  Loon.  The  Partridge,  312 
The  Wood  Pigeon.    The  Woodpecker.    The 

Blue  Jay.  The  Wakon  Bird,  -  313 

The  Black  Bird.  The  Red  Bird.  TheWhctfaw,  315 
The  King  Bird.  The  Humming  Bird,         -         ib. 


FISHES, 


The  Sturgeon,  -  -  -         316 

The  Cat  Fifh.     The  Carp.  The  Chub,  317 


SERPENTS, 


The  Rattle  Snake,  -  -  318 

The  Long  Black  Snake.  The  Striped  or  Gar- 
ter Snake.  -  -  -         321 

The  Water  Snake.  The  Hiffing  Snake.     The 

Green  Snake,  -  -         -        322 

The  Thorn-tail  Snake.  The  Speckled  Snake. 
The  Ring  Snake.  The  two-headed  Snake. 
The  Tortoife  or  Land  Turtle,  -         323 


LIZARDS. 


The  Swift  Lizard.     The  Slow  Lizard.     The 

Tree  Toad,  -  -  -  324 

c 


xviii  CONTENT  S. 

INSECTS. 

The  Silk  Worm.    The  Tobacco  Worm.  The 

Bee.  The  Lightning  Bug  or  Fire  Fly,         325 

The  Water  Bug.  The  Horned  Bug.  Locuft,      327 

CHAPTER     XIX. 

Of  the  Trees,    Shrubs,    Roots,    Herbs,  Flow- 
ers,  &c.  -  328 

TREES. 


The  Oak,  -  ib. 

The  Pine  Tree,  The  Maple.  The  Am,  329 

The  Hemlock  Tree.  The  Bafs  or  White  Wood. 
The  Wickopick  or  Suckwick.  The  Button 
Wood,  -  -  -  331 


NUT    TREES. 

The  Butter  or  Oil  Nut.  The  Beech  Nut,  332 

Ths  Pecan  Nut.  The  Hickory,  -  233 

FRUIT     TREES. 


The  Vine  -  334 

The  Mulberry  Tree.  The  Crab  Apple  Tree. 
The  Plum  Tree.  The  Cherry  Tree.  The 
Sweet  Gum  Tree,  -  -  ib. 


CONTENTS.  x\x 


SHRUBS. 

The  Willow.  Shin  Wood.  The  Saflafras,  336 

The  Prickly  Afh.     The  Moofe  Wood.     The 

Spood  Wood.  The  Elder,  -  337 

The  Shrub  Oak.  The  Witch  Hazel.  The  Myr- 
tle Wax  Tree.  Winter  Green,  338 

The  Fever  Bum.    The  Cranberry  Bum.     The 

Choak  Berry,  -  -  239 


ROOTS     and     PLANTS. 


Spikenard.  Sarfaparilla.   Ginfang,  -  340 

Gold  Thread.     Solomon's  Seal.     Devil's   Bit. 

Blood  Root,  -  -  341 


HERBS. 


Sanicle.  Rattle  Snake  Plantain,  -  343 

Poor  Robin's  Plantain.     Toad  Plantain.   Rock 
Liverwort.  Gargit  or  Skoke.  Skunk  Cab- 
bage or  Poke.  Wake  Robin,  -         344 
Wild  Indigo.     Cat  Mint,              -              -  345 
FLOWERS,             -                                         346 


FARINACEOUS  and  LEGUMINOUS 
ROOTS,    &c. 

Maize  or  Indian  Corn.  Wild  Rice,  -  ib. 

Beans.  The  Squafh,  -.  -  349 


xx  CONTENTS. 


APPENDIX. 

The  Probability  of  the  interior  parts  of  North- 
America  becoming  Commercial  Colonies,   351 

The  Means  by  which  this  might  be  effected,       352 

Tracts  of  land  pointed  out,  on  which  Colonies 
may  be  eftablifhed  with  the  greateft  Ad- 
vantage, -  -  -  354 

Difiertation  on  the  Difcovery  of  the  North-weft 
Paffage,  -  -^  358 

The  molt  certain  way  of  attaining  it,  ib. 

Plan  propofed  by  Richard  White  worth,  Efq. 
for  making  an  Attempt  from  a  Quarter  hi- 
therto unexplored,  -  352 

The  Reafon  of  its  being  poftponed,  -         360 


INTRODUCTION. 


Xn!  O  fooner  was  the  late  war, with  France 
concluded,  and  peace  eflablifhed  by  the  treaty  of 
Verfailles  in  the  year  1763,  than  I  began  to  coniicier 
(having  rendered  my  country  ibme  fervices  during 
the  war)  how  I  might  continue  ftiil  ferviceable,  and 
contribute,  as  much  as  lay  in  my  power,  to  make 
that  van:  acquifition  of  territory,  gained  by  Great- 
Britain  in  North- America,  advantageous  to  it.  It 
appeared  to  me  indifpeniably  needful,  that  govern- 
ment mould  be  acquainted,  in  the  firft  place,  with 
the  true  ftate  of  the  dominions  they  were  now  be- 
come porTerled  of.  To  this  purpoie,  I  determined, 
as  the  next  proof  of  my  zeal,  to  explore  the  moft 
unknown  parts  of  them,  and  to  fpare  no  trouble  or 
expence  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  that  promifed  to 
be  fo  ufeful  to  my  countrymen.  I  knew  that  many 
obitruclions  would  arife  to  my  fchemcr  from  the  want 
of  good  maps  and  charts  ■,  for  the  French,  whilfl 
they  retained  their  power  in  North- America,  had 
taken  every  artful  method  to  ke^p  all  other  nations, 
particularly  tat  Engiifh,  in  ignorance  of  the  con- 
cerns of  the  interior  parts  of  it:  and  to  accompitin, 
this  defign  with  the  greater  certainty,  they  hadpub- 
lifhed  inaccurate  maps  and  taiie  accounts;  calling 
the  different  nations  of  the  Indians  by  nicknames 
they  had  given  them,  an  I  not  by  "hole  really  apper- 
taining to  them.  Whether  the  intention  of  the 
French  in  doing  this,  was  to  prevent  thefe  nations 
from  being  difcovered   and  traded  with,  or  to  con- 

A 


ii  I  >;  T  R  O  D  U  G  T  I  O  N. 

eeal  their  difcourfe,  when  they  talked  to  each  other 
of  the  Indian  concerns,  in  their  prefence,  I  will  not 
determine  ±  but  whatibevcr  was  the  caufe  from  which 
it  arcfe,  it  tended  to  miilcad. 

As  a  proof  that  the  Engiifh  had  been  greatly  de- 
ceived by  thefe  accounts,  and  that  their  knowledge 
relative  to  Canada  had  ufually  been  very  confirm 
ed  , — before  the  conqueft  of  Crown-Point  in  1759, 
it  had  been  efteemed  an  impregnable  fortrefs;  but 
no  fooner  was  it  taken,  than  we  were  convinced  that 
it  had  acquired  its  greateft  fecurity  from  falfe  re- 
ports, given  out  by  its  porTefTors,  and  might  have 
been  battered  down  with  a  few  four  pounders.  Even 
its  fituation,  which  was  reprefented  to  be  fo  very 
advantageous,  was  found  to  owe  its  advantages  to 
the  fame  fource.  It  cannot  be  denied  but  that  fome 
maps  of  theft  countries  have  been  publifhed  by  the 
French  with  an  appearance  of  accuracy;  but  thefe 
are  of  fo  fmall  a  fize,  and  drawn  on  fo  minute  a  fcale, 
that  they  are  nearly  inexplicable.  The  fources  of 
the  MimfHppi,  I  can  afiert  from  my  own  experi- 
ence, are  greatly  mifplaced;  fcrwhen  I  had  explored 
them,  ancl  compared  their  fituation  with  the  French 
charts,  I  found  them  very  erroneouily  reprefented, 
and  am  fatisfied  that  thefe  were  only  copied  from  the 
rude  iketches  of  the  Indians. 

Even  fo  lately  as  their  evacuation  of  Canada,  they 
continued  their  fchemes  to  deceive]  leaving  no  tra- 
ces by  which  any  knowledge  might  accrue  to  their 
conquerors;  for  though  they  were  well  acquainted 
with  all  the  lakes,  particularly  with  lake  Superior, 
having  conftantly  a  veiiel'  of  confiderable  burthen 
therem,  yet  their  plains  of  them  are  very  incorrect. 
I  difecvered  many  errors  in  the  cifcriptions  given 
therein  oi  its  iftands  and  bays,  during  a  progrefs  of 
eleven  hundred  miles   that  I  coafted  it   in  canoes. 


INTRODUCTION.  iii 

They  likewife,  on  giving  up  the  poffeffions  of  them, 
took  care  to  leave  the  places  they  had  occupied, 
in  the  fame  uncultivated  Hate  they  hadfoind  them; 
at  the  lame  time  deftroying  all  their  naval  force.  I 
obierved  myfelf  part  of  the  hulk  of  a  very  large  vef- 
felj  burnt  to  the  water's  edge,  juft  at  the  opening 
from  the  Straits  of  St.  Marie  into  the  Lake. 

Thefe  difficulties,  however,  were  notfufficient  to 
deter  me  from  the  undertaking,  and  I  made  prepa- 
rations for  fettingout.  What  I  chiefly  had  in  view, 
after  gaining' a  knowledge  of  the  manners,  cultoms, 
languages,  foil,  and  natural  productions  of  the  dif- 
ferent nations  that  inhabit  the  back  of  the  Miffiiiippi, 
was  to  afcertain  the  breadth  of  that  vaft  continent, 
which  extends  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  in  its  broadeft  part  between  43  and  46  de- 
grees northern  latitude.  Had  I  been  able  to  accom- 
piifn  this,  I  intended  to  have  propofed  to  govern- 
ment to  eftablim  a  poft  in  fome  of  thofe  parts  about 
the  Straits  of  Annian,  which,  having  been  firfl  dis- 
covered by  Sir  Francis  Drake,  of  courfe  belong 
to  the  Englifh.  This  I  am  convinced  would  greatly 
facilitate  the  difcovery  of  a  northweft  pafTage,  or  a 
communication  between  Hudfon's  Bay  and  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean.  An  event  fodefirable,  and  which  has 
been  fo  often  fought  for,  but  without  fuccefs.  Be- 
fides  this  important  end,  a  fettlement  on  that  extre- 
mity of  America  would  anfwer  many  good  pur- 
pt>fes,  and  repay  every  expence  the  eftabliihment  of 
it  might  occafion.  For  it  would  not  only  difclofe 
j  new  fources  of  "trade,  and  promote  many  ufeful 
i  difcoveries,  but  would  open  apaiTage  for  conveying 
1  intelligence  to  China,  and  the  Englifh  fettlements 
in  the  Eaft  Indies,  with  greater  expedition  than  a 
tedious  voyage  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  or  tfte 
Straits  of  Magellan  will  allow  of, 


\v  INTRODUCTION. 

How  far  the  advantages  arifing  from  fuch  an  en- 
terprize  may  extend,  can  only  be  ascertained  by 
the  favorable  concurrence  of  future  events.  But 
that  the  completion  of  the  fcheme,  I  have  had  the 
honor  of  firlt  planning  and  attempting,  Will  (bine 
time  or  other  be  effected,  I  make  no  doubt.  From 
the  unhappy  divifions  that  at  pre  lent  fubfift  between 
Great-Britain  and  America,  it  will  prooa'jJy  be  fpmc 
years  before  the  attempt  is  repeated;  but  whenever 
it  ii,  and  the  execution  of  it  earned  on  with  pro- 
priety, thole  who  are  fo  fortunate  a^  to  faceted,  will 
reap,  exclufive  of  the  national  advantages  that  muft 
enfue,  emoluments  beyond  their  moft  fanguinc  ex- 
pectations. And  whilit  their  fpirits  are  elated  by 
their  fuccefs,  perhaps  they  may  bellow  fome  com- 
mendations and  bieflings  on  the  perfon  who  firft 
pointed  out  to  them  the  way.  Thefe,  though  but 
a  fhadowy  recompence  for  all  my  toil,  I  fhall  receive 
with  pleaiure. 

To  what  power  or  authority  this  new  world  will 
become  dependant,  after  it  has  arifen  from  its  pre- 
lent uncultivated  (late,  time  alone  can  difcover. 
But  as  the  feat  of  empire  from  time  immemorial 
has  been  gradually  progreluve  towards  the  weft, 
there  is  no  doubt  but  that  at  fome  future  period, 
mighty  kingdoms  will  emerge  from  thefc  wilder- 
neiTes,  and  (lately  palaces  and  folemn  temples,  with 
gilded  fpires  reaching  the  ikies,  fupplant  the  Indian 
huts,  whofe  only  decorations  are  the  barbarous  tro- 
phies of  their  vanquifhed  enemies. 

As  fome  of  the  preceding  pafTages  have  already 
informed  the  reader  that  the  plan  I  had  laid  down  for 
penetrating  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  proved  abortive, 
it  is  neceflary  to  add,  that  this  proceeded  not  from 
us  impracticability  (for  the  further  I  went  the  more 
convinced  I  was  that  it  could  certainlv  be  acccrn- 


INTRODUCTION.  v 

plifhecT)  but  from  unfore  ..pointments.  Hr  , 

ever,  I    proceeded  fc  f;        hat  I  was  able  to  make 
fuch  ics  a;  will  he  uieful  in   any   future  at- 

..   and  prove  a  2  ::ion  for  fome  more 

fuccelfcr  to   buSd  upon.      Thefe  I    (hajl 

n©\    lay   before   the  public  in  the  following  pages j 

fatisned  chat  tne  greateft  part  cf  them  have 

i  been  publifned   by   any  peffon   that  has  hi- 

o  treated   of  the  interior  nations  of  the  Indians; 

Culafly^  the  account  I  give  of  the  Naudoweflies, 
and  the  (ituation  of  the  heads  of  the  four  great  rivers 
that  cake  their  rife  within  a  few  leagues  of  each 
other,  nearly  about  the  centre  of  this  great  conti- 
nent; viz.  The  river  Bourbon,-  which  empties  itfelf 
intpHudfori's  Bay;  the  waters  of  Saint  Lawrence; 
the  MiiTiflippi,  c.nd  the  River  Oregan,  or  the  River 
of  the  weft,  thai  falls  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  at  the 
Straits  of  Annian. 

The  impediments  that  occafioned  my  return,  be- 
fore I  had  accomplished  my  purpofes,  were  thefe. 
On  my  arrival  at  Michillimackinac,  the  remoter! 
Engiifh  poft,  in  September  1766,  I  applied  to  Mr. 
Rogers,  who  was  then  governor  of  it,  to  furnifh.  me 
with  a  proper  afiortment  of  goods,  as  prefents  for 
the  Indians  who  inhabit  the  track  I  intended  to 
purfuc.  He  did  this  only  in  part;  but  promifed  to 
fupply  me  with  fuch  as  were  neceflary,  when  I 
reached  the  Falls  of  Saint  Anthony.  I  afterwards 
learned  that  the  governor  fulfilled  his  promife  in 
or  ering  the  goods  to  be  delivered  to  me;  but  thofe 
to  whole  care  he  intruded  them,  inftead  of  conform- 
ing to  his  orders,  difpofed  of  them  dfewhere, 

Difappointed  in  my  expectations  from   this  quar- 
ter, I  thought  it  neceflary  to  return   to  La  Prairie 
I  Le  Chien;  for  it  was  invpoiTible  to  proceed  any  fur- 
ther without  prefents  to  enfure   me   a  favorable  re- 


vi  INTRODUCTION. 

ception.  This  I  did  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1767,  and  (hiding  my  progrefs  to  the  weftward  thus 
retarded,  I  determined  to  direct  my  courfe  north- 
ward. I  took  this  ftep  with  a  view  of  rinding  a 
c  •  munication  from  the  heads  of  the  Mimmppi, 
:..:  )  Lake  Superior,  in  order  to  meet,  at  the  grand 
Portage  on  the  north  weft  fide  of  that  lake,  the 
traders  that  ui^ally  come,  about  this  feafon,  from 
hillirnackiixae*  Of  thd^  I  intended  to  purchafe 
g  .is,  and  then  to  purine  my  journey  from  that 
quarter,  by  way  of  the  lakes  du  Pluye,  Dubois, 
and  Ounipique  to  the  heads  of  the  river  of  the 
weft,  which,  as  I  have  faid  before,  falls  into  the 
Straits  of  Annian,  the  termination  of  my  intended 
progrefs. 

I  accomplifhed  the  former  part  of  my  dcfign,  and 
reached  Lake  Superior  in  proper  time;  but  unluc- 
kily the  traders  I  met  there,  acquainted  me  that  they 
had  no  goods  to  fpare ;  thofe  they  had  with  ti,em 
being  barely  fufficient  to  anfwer  their  own  demands 
in  thefe  remote  parts.  Thus  disappointed  a  fee  >nd 
time,  I  found  myielf  obliged  to  return  to  the  place 
from  whence  I  began  my  expedition,  which  I  did 
B  let  continuing  fome  months  on  the  north  and  eaft 
ers  of  Lake  Superior,  and  exploring  the  bays 
and  rivers  that  empty  themielves  into  this  large  body 
of  water. 

As  it  may  be  expecled  that  I  mould  lay  before 
the  public  the  reafons  that  thefe  clifcoveries,  of  fo" 
rs>\:ch  importance  to  every  one  who  has  any  con- 
nections with. America,  have  not  been  imparted  to 
them  before,  notwithstanding  they  were  made  up- 
wards often  years  ago,  I  will  give  them  to  the  world 
in  a  plain  and  candid  manner,  and  without  mingling 
with  them  any  complaints  op  account  of  the  ill  treat- 
ment I  have  received. 


INTRODUCTION.  vii 

•  'On  my  arrival  in  England.,  I  prefented  a  petition 
to  his  majfcfty  in  council,  praying  for  a  reimburse- 
mcnc  -  iiims   I  had  expended   in  the    fervice 

of  government.  This  was  referred  to  the  lords  ccm- 
miiEoners  of  trade  and  plantations.  T  heir  lord  (Lips 
from  the  tenor  of  it  thought  the  intelligence  I  could 
give,  of  fo  much  importance  to  the  nation,  that 
they  ordered  me  to  appear  before  the  board.  This 
meifage  I  obeyed,  and  underwent  a  long  examina- 
tion; much  I  believe  to  the  fatisfaclion  of  every 
lord  prefent.  When  it  was  finiihed,  I  requefted  to 
know  what  I  mould  do  with  my  papers  -,  without 
hefitation  the  firft  lord  replied,  That  I  might  pub- 
lifh  them  whenever  I  pleafed.  In  cenfequence  of 
this  permifTion,  I  difpofed  of  them  to  a  bookfeller: 
but  when  they  were  nearly  ready  for  the  prefs,  an 
order  was  idued  from  the  council  board,  requiring 
me  to  deliver,  without  delay,  into  the  plantation 
office,  all  my  charts  and  journals,  with  every  paper 
relative  to  the  ciifcoveries  I  had  made.  In  order  to 
obey  this  command,  I  was  obliged  to  re-purchafc 
them  from  the  bookfeller  at  a  very  great  expence, 
and  deliver  them  up.  This  frem  difb.urfement  I 
endeavoured  to  get  annexed  to  the  account  I  had  al- 
ready delivered  in;  but  the  requeft  was  denied  me, 
notwithstanding  ]  had  only  acied,  in  the  cfifpofal  of 
my  papers,  conformably  to  the  permiflion  I  had 
received  from  the  board  of  trade.  This  lofs,  which 
amounted  to  a  very  confidcrable  fum,  I  was  obliged 
to  bear,  and  to  red  fatisfi'cd  with  an  indemnification 
for  my  other  expenses. 

Thus  fituated,  my  only  expectations  are  from 
the  favor  of  a  generous  public;  to  whom  I  fhall  now 
communicate  my  plans,  journals,  and  obfervations, 
of  which  I  luckily  kept  copies,  when  I  delivered  the 
originals  into  the  plantation  office.  And  this  I  do 
the  more  readily,   as   I   hear  they  are   miflaid;   and 


■ 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

there  is  no  probability  of  their  ever  being  publifhed, 
Tp  thofc  who  are  interefted  in  the  concern.-,  of  the 
interior  parti  of  North-America,  from  the  conti* 
guity  of  their  pollcH'ons,  or  commercial  engage- 
ments, they  will  be  extremely  ufeful,  and  folly  re- 
pay the  fum  at  which  they  are  purchalcci.  To  thofe, 
who,  from  a  laudabk  curiofity,  wifh  to  be  acquaint- 
ed with  the  manners  and  cuftoms  or'  every  inhabitant 
of  this  globe*  the  accounts  nere  given  of  the  various 
nations  that  inhabit  fo  vair  a  tract  of  it,  a  country 
hitherto  alnioft  unexplored,  will  furnifb  an  ample 
fund  of  amufement,  and  gratify  their  mod  curious 
expectations.  And  I  Matter  myfelf  they  will  be  as 
favorably  received  by  the  public,  as  defcriptions  of 
illancis,  which  afford  no  other  entertainment  than 
what  arifes  from  their  novelty ;  and  difecveries, 
that  fcem  to  promife  very  few  advantages  to  this 
country,  though  acquired  at  an   immenfe  expence. 

To  make  the  following  work  as  comprehenfible 
and  entertaining  as  poluble,  I  fhall  fir  ft  give  my 
readers  an  account  of  the  route  I  purfued  over  this 
immenfe  continent,  and  as  I  pals  on,  defcribe  the 
number  of  inhabitants,  the  fituation  of  the  rivers 
and  lakes,  and  the  productions  of  the  country. 
Having  done  this,  I  fhall  'reat,  in  diftinct  chapters, 
of  the  manners,  cuftoms,  and  languages  of  the  In- 
dians, and  to  complete  the  whole,  add  a  vocabulary 
of  the  words  moftiy  in  ufe  among  them. 

And  here  it  is  neceflary  to  befpeak  the  candor  of 
the  learned  part  of  my  readers  in  the  perufal  of  it, 
as  it  is  the  production  of  a  perfen  uhufed,  from  cp- 
pofite  avocations,  to  literary  purfuits.  lie  therefore 
begs  they  wculd  not  examine  it  with  too  critical  an 
eye 5  cfpecially  when  he  allures  them  that'his  atten- 
tion has  been  more  employed  on  giviDg  a  juft  *,1ef- 
cription  of  a  Cotuntry  thai  promifes,  in  ibme   future 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

period,  to  be  an  inexhauftible  fource  of  riches  to 
that  people  who  fhall  be  fo  fortunate  as  to  poiTefs  it, 
than  on  the  ftyle  or  compofition;  and  more  careful 
to  render  his  language  intelligible  and  explicit,  than 
fmooth  and  florid. 


B 


A 

JOURNAL 


•OF       THE 


T 


-WITH       A 

DESCRIPTION 

OF       THE 

COUNTRY,  LAKES,  &c. 


.N  June  1766,  I  fet  out  from  Bofton,  and 
proceeded  by  way  of  Albany  and  Niagara,  to  Mi- 
chillimackinac;  a  fort  fituat'ed  between  the  Lakes 
Huron  and  Michigan,  and  diftant  from  Bofton  1300 
miles.  This  being  the  uttermoft  of  our  factories 
towards  the  north- weft,  I  confidered  it  as  the  moll 
convenient  place  from  whence  I  could  begin  my  in- 
tended progrefs,  and  enter  at  once  into  the  regions  I 
•defigned  to  explore. 

Referring  my  readers  to  the  publications  already 
extant  for  an  account  of  thofe  parts  of  North- Ame- 
rica, that,  from  lying  adjacent  to  the  back  Settle- 
ments, have  been  frequently  defcribed,  I  fhall  con- 
£ne  myfelf  to  a  defcriptionof  the  more  interior  parts 


12  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

of  it,  which,  having  been  but  feldorri  vifited,  are 
confequently  but  littie  known.  In  doing  this,  I  mall 
in  no  initance  exceed  the  bounds  of  truth,  or  have 
rccourfe  to  thofe  ufelefs  and  extravagant  exaggera- 
tions too  often  made  ufe  of  by  travellers,  to  excite 
the  curioiity  of  the  public,  or  to  increafe  their  own 
importance.  Nor  ihail  I  infert  any  obfervations, 
but  fuch  as  I  have  made  myieif,  or  from  the  credi- 
bility of  thofe  by  whom  they  were  related,  am  ena- 
bled to  vouch  for  their  authenticity. 

Michillimackinac,  from  whence  I  began  my  tra- 
vels, is  a  fort  compoied  of  a  ftrong  ftockacle,  and 
is  ufually  defended  by  a  garrifon  of  one  hundred 
men.  It  contains  about  thirty  houfes,  one  of  which 
belongs  to  the  governor,  and  another  to  the  com- 
mifTary.  Several  traders  alfo  dwell  within  its  for- 
tifications, v.T.o  find  it  a  convenient  lituation  to 
traffic  with  the  neighbouring  nations.  Michillimac- 
kinac, in  the  language  of  the  Chipeway  Indians, 
fignifies  a  Tortoife  j  and  the  place  is  fuppofed 
to  receive  its  name  from  an  ifland,  lying  about  fix 
or  feven  miles  to  north-earl,  within  light  of  the 
fore,  which  has  the  appearance  of  that  animal. 

During  the  Indian  war  that  followed  foon  after 
theconqueff  of  Canada  in  the  year  1763,  and  which 
was  carried  on  by  an  army  of  confederate  nations, 
compofed  of  the  Hurons,  Miamies,  Chipeways, 
Ottowav/s,  Pontowattimies,  MirTifTauges,  and  fome 
other  tribes,  under  the  direction  of  Ponriac,  a  ce- 
lebrated Indian  warrior,  who  had  always  been  in 
the  French  intereft,  it  was  taken  by  furprizc  in 
the  following  manner:  The  Indians  having  fettled 
their  plan,  drew  near  the  fort,  and  began  a  game 
at  ball,  a  pafcime  much  ufed  among  them,  and  not 
unlike  tennis.  In  the  height  of  their  game,  at 
which  fome   of  the  Englifh  officers,  not  fufpecling 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  13 

any  deceit,  flood  looking  on,  they  (truck  the  bail, 
as  if  by  accident,  over  the  ftockadej  this  they  re- 
peated two  or  three  time,  to  make  the  deception 
more  complete;  till  at  length,  having  by  this  means 
lulled  every  fufpicion  of  the  centry  at  the  fouth  gate, 
a  party  rufhed  by  him ;  and  the  reft  foon  following, 
they  took  poiTeiTion  of  the  fort,  without  meeting 
With  any  cppofition.  Having  accomplifhed  their 
defign,  the  Indians  had  the  humanity  to  fpare  the 
lives  of  the  greater!;  part  of  the  garrifon  and  traders, 
but  they  made  them  all  prifoners,  and  carried  them 
off.  Mqwever,  fome  time  after  they  took  them  to 
Montreal,  where  they  were  redeemed  at  a  good 
price.  The  fort  alfo  was  given  up  again  to  the  En- 
glifh  at  the  peace  made  with  Pontiac,  by  the  com- 
mander of  Detroit  the  year  following. 

Having  here  made  the  neceifary  difpofitions  for 
purluing  my  travels,  and  obtained  a  credit  from 
Mr.  Rogers,  the  governor,  on  fome  Englifh  and 
Canadian  traders,  who  v/ere  going  to  trade  on  the 
MifmTippi,  and  received  alfo  from  him  a  promife  of 
a  frelh  fupply  of  goods  when  I  reached  the  falls  of 
Saint  Anthony.  I  left  the  fort  on  the  3d  of  Sep- 
tember, in  company  with  thefe  traders.  In  was 
agreed  that  they  mould  furnifh  me  with  fuch  goods 
as  I  might  want,  for  prefents  to  the  Indian  chiefs, 
during  my  continuance  with  them,  agreeable  to  the 
governor's  order.  But  when  I  arrived  at  the  extent 
of  their  route,  I  was  to  find  other  guides,  and  to  de- 
pend on  the  goods  the  governor  had  promifed  to 
fupply  me  with. 

We  accordingly  fet  out  together,  and  on  the  1 8th 
arrived  at  Fort  La  Bay.  This  fort  is  fituated  on  the 
fouthern  extremity  of  a  bay  in  Lake  Michigan, 
termed  by  the  French,  the  bay  of  Puants  j  but 
which  fince  the  Englifh  have  gained  pofTeiTicn  of  all 


i4  CAKVER's     TRAVELS. 

the  fettlements  on  this  part  of  the  continent,  is  called 
by  them,  the  Green  Bay.  The  reafon  of  its  being 
thus  denominated,  is  from  its  appearance  -,  for  on 
leaving  Michillimackinac  in  the  fpring  feafon, 
though  the  trees  there  have  not  even  put  forth  their 
buds,  yet  you  find  the  country  around  La  Bay,  not- 
withstanding the  pafTage  has  not  exceeded  fourteen 
days,  covered  with  the  fined  verdure,  and  vegeta- 
tion as  forward  as  it  could  be  were  it  fummer. 

This  fort  is  aifo  only  furrounded  by  a  ftockade, 
and  being  much  decayed,  is  fcarcely  defenfible  againft 
imall  arms.  It  was  built  by  the  French  for  the 
•protection  of  their  trade,  fome  time  before  they  were 
forced  to  relinquifh  it ;  and  when  Canada  and  its  de- 
pendencies were  furrendered  to  the  Englifh,  it  was 
immediately  garrifoned  with  an  officer  and  thirty 
men.  Thefe  were  made  prifoners  by  the  Menomo- 
nies  foon  after  the  furprife  of  Michillimackinac,  and 
the  fort  has  neither  been  garrifoned  nor  kept  in  repair 
iince. 

The  bay  is  about  ninety  miles  long,  but  differs 
much  in  its  breadth  ;  being  in  fome  places  only  fif- 
teen miles,  in  others  from  twenty  to  thirty.  It  lies 
nearly  from  north-eaft  to  fouth  weft.  At  the  en- 
trance of  it  from  the  lake  are  a  firing  of  iflandsj 
extending  from  north  to  fouth,  called  the  Grand 
Traverfe.  Thefe  are  about  thirty  miles  in  length, 
and  ferve  to  facilitate  the  pafTage  of  canoes,  as  they 
inciter  them  from  the  winds,  which  fometimes 
come  with  violence  acrofs  the  Lake.  On  the  fide 
that  lies  to  the  fouth-eaft  is  the  ncareft  and  beft  na- 
vigation. 

The  i Hands  of  the  Grand  Traverfe  are  moftly 
fmall  and  rocky.  Many  of  the  rocks  are  of  an 
amazing  fize,  and  appear  as  if  they  had  been  falhi- 


TRAVELS.  15 

erred  by  the  hands  of  artifts.  On  the  largeft  and  belt 
of  thefe  iflands  ftands  a  town  of  the  Ottawaws, 
at  which  I  found  one  of  the  moft  confiderable 
chiefs  of  that  nation,  who  received  me  with  every 
honour  he  could  pofTibly  mow  to  a  ftranger.  But 
what  appeared  extremely  lingular  to  me  at  the  time, 
and  muft  do  fo  to  every  perfon  unacquainted  with 
the  cuftoms  of  the  Indians,  was  the  reception  I  met 
wich  on  landing.  As  our  canoes  approached  the 
fhore,  and  had  reached  within  about  threelcore  rods 
of  it,  the  Indians  began  a  feu-de-joy ;  in  which  they 
fired  their  pieces  loaded  with  balls  5  but  at  the  fame 
time  they  took  care  to  difcharge  them  in  fuch  a 
manner  as  to  fly  a  few  yards  above  our  heads  :  during 
this  they  ran  from  one  tree  or  Hump  to  another, 
fhouting  and  behaving  as  if  they  were  in  the  heat  of 
battie.  At  firft  I  was  greatly  furprifed,  and  was  on 
the  point  of  ordering  my  attendants  to  return  their 
fire,  concluding  that  their  intentions  were  hofiile  j 
but  being  undeceived  by  fome  of  the  traders,  who 
informed  me  that  this  was  their  ufual  method  of  re- 
ceiving the  chiefs  of  other  nations,  I  confidered  it  in 
its  true  light,  and  was  pleafed  with  the  refpeft  thus 
paid  me. 

I  remained  here  one  night.  Among  the  prefents 
I  made  the  chiefs,  were  fome  fpirituous  liquors ;  with 
which  they  made  themfelves  merry,  and  all  joined 
in  a  dance,  that  lafled  the  greater!:  part  of  the  night. 
In  the  morning  when  I  departed,  the  chief  attended 
me  to  the  fhore,  and,  as  foon  as  I  had  embarked, 
offered  up,  in  an  audible  voice,  and  with  great  fo- 
lemnity,  a  fervent  prayer  in  my  behalf.  He  prayed 
<c  that  the  great  fpirit  would  favor  me  with  a  prof- 
per6us  voyage  -,  that  he  would  give  me  an  unclouded 
fky,  and  fmooth  waters,  by  day,  and  that  I  might 
lie  down,  by  night,  on  a  beaver  blanket,  enjoying 
uninterrupted  Deep,  and  pleafant  dreams ,  and  alfo 


j6  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

that  I  might  find  continual  protection  under  the  great 
pipe  oi  peace."  In  this  manner  he  continued  his 
petitions  till  I  could  no  longer  hear  them. 

I  muft  here  cbferve,  that  notwithstanding  the 
inhabitants  of  Europe  are  apt  to  entertain  horrid 
ideas  of  the  ferocity  of  thefe  favages,  as  they  are 
termed,  I  received  from  every  tribe  of  them  in  the 
interior  parts,  the  mofl  hofpitable  and  courteous 
treatment ■,  and  am  convinced,  that  till  they  are 
contaminated  by  the  example,  and  fpirituous  liquors 
Gf  their  more  refined  neighbours,  they  retain  this 
friendly  and  inoffenfive  conduct  towards  ftrangers. 
Their  inveteracy  and  cruelty  to  their  enemies,  I 
acknowledge  to  be  a  great  abatement  of  the  favora- 
ble opinion  I  wrould  wiili  to  entertain  of  them.;  but 
this  failing  is  hereditary,  and  having  received  the 
fandtion  of  immemorial  cuftom,  has  taken  too  deep 
root  in  their  minds  to  be  eanly  extirpated. 

Among  this  people  I  eat  of  a  very  uncommon 
kind  of  bread.  The  Indians,  in  general,  ufe  but 
little  of  this  nutritious  food:  whilft  their  corn  is  in 
the  milk,  as  they  term  it,  that  is,  juft  before  it  be- 
gins to  ripen,  they  dice  off  the  kernels  from  the 
cob  to  which  they  grow,  and  knead  them  into  a 
pafte.  This  they  are  enabled  to  do  without  the  ad- 
dition of  any  liquid,  by  the  milk  that  flows  from 
them  ;  and  when  it  is  effected,  they  parcel  it  out  into 
cakes,  and  enclofmg  them  in  leaves  of  the  baffwood 
tree,  place  them  in  hot  embers,  where  they  are  foon 
baked.  And  better  flavored  bread  I  never  eat  in 
any  country. 

This  place  is  only  a  fmall  village  containing  about 
twenty-five  houfes  and  fixty  or  feventy  warri- 
ors. I  found  nothing  there  worthy  of  further  re- 
mark. 


CARVE  R'«     TRAVELS.  17 

The  land  on  the  fouth-eaft  fide  of  the  Green  Bay, 
is  but  very  indifferent,  being  overfpread  with  a 
heavy  growth  of  hemlock,  pine,  fpruce,  and  fir 
trees.  The  communication  between  Lake  Michi- 
gan and  the  Green  Bay,  has  been  reported  by  fome 
to  be  impracticable  for  the  paflage  of  any  veffels  lar- 
ger than  canoes  or  boat?,  on  account  of  the  fhoals 
that  lie  between  the  iflands  in  the  Grand  Traverfe; 
but  on  founding  it  I  found  fufficient  depth  for  a 
vefTcl  of  fixty  tons,  and  the  breadth  proportionable. 

The  land  adjoining  to  the  bottom  of  this  bay  is 
very  fertile,  the  country  in  general  level,  and  the 
perfpective  view  of  it  pleafing  and  extenfive* 

A  few  families  live  in  the  fort,  which  lies  on  the 
weft  (ide  of  the  Fox  River,  and  oppoilte  to  it,  on 
the  eaft  fide  of  its  entrance,  are  fome  French  fet- 
tle rs  who  cultivate  the  land,  and  appear  to  live  very 
comfortably. 

The  Green  Bay  or  Bay  of  Puants  is  one  of  thofe 
.  places  to  which  the  French,  as  I  have  mentioned 
in  the  introduction,  have  given  nicknames.  It  is 
termed  by  the  inhabitants  of  its  coafts,  the  Meno- 
monie  Bay;  but  why  the  French  have  denominated 
it  the  Puant  or  Stinking  Bay,  I  know  not.  The 
reafon  they  themfeives  gave  for  it  is,  that  it  was  not 
with  a  view  to  miflead  ftrangers,  but  that  by  adopt- 
ing <his  method,  they  could  converfe  with  e?.ch 
other  concerning  the  Indians,  in  their  prefents, 
without  being  underftood  by  them.  For  it  was  re- 
marked by  the  perfons  who  firft  traded  among  them, 
that  when  they  were  fpeaking  to  each  other  about 
them,  and  mentioned  their  proper  names,  they 
inftantly  grew  fufpicious,  and  concluded  that  their 
vifitors  were  either  fpeaking  ill  of  them,  or  plots 

Q 


H  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

ting  their  destruction.  To  remedy  this  they  gave 
them  fome  other  name.  The  only  bad  confequence 
arifing  from  the  practice  then  introduced  ib,  that 
Englifh  and  French  geographers,  in  their  plans  of 
the  interior  parts  of  America,  give  different  names 
to  the  fame  people,  and  thereby  perplex  thofe  who 
have  occafion  to  refer  to  them. 

Lake  Michigan,  of  which  the  Green  Bay  is  a  part, 
is  divided  on  the  north-eaft  from  Lake  Huron  by 
the  Scraits  of  Michillimackinac  ■>  and  is  fituated  be- 
tween forty-two  and  forty-fix  degrees  of  latitude, 
and  between  eighty- four  and  eighty-feven  degrees 
of  weft  longitude.  Its  greateft  length  is  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles,  its  breadth  about  forty,  and 
its  circumference  nearly  fix  hundred.  There  is  a, 
remarkable  firing  of  fmall  iilands,  beginning  over 
againft  Aikin's  farm,  and  running  about  thirty  miles 
fouth-weft  into  the  Lake.  Thefe  are  called  the 
Beaver  Iilands.  Their  fituation  is  very  pleafant^ 
but  the  foil  is  bare.  However  they  afford  a  beauti- 
ful profpe<5t. 

On  the  north-weft  parts  of  this  lake  the  waters 
branch  out  into  two  bays.  That  which  lies  towards 
the  north  is  the  Bay  of  Noquets,  and  the  other  the 
Green  Bay  juft  defcribed. 

The  waters  of  this  as  well  as  the  other  great 
lakes  are  clear  and  wholefome,  and  of  furRcient 
depth  for  the  navigation  of  large  mips.  Half  the 
fpace  of  the  country  that  lies  to  the  eaft,  and  ex- 
tends to  Lake  Huron,  belongs  to  the  Ottowaw  In- 
dians. The  line  that  divides  their  territories  from 
the  Chipeways,  runs  nearly  north  and  fouth,  and 
reaches  almoft  from  the  fouthern  extremicy  of  this 
lake,  acrofs  the  high  lands,  to  Michillimackinac,. 
through  the  centre  of  which  it  panes.     So  that  when 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  15, 

ihefe  two  tribes  happen  to  meet  at  the  factory,  they 
-each  encamp  on  their  own  dominions,  at  a  few  yards 
diftance  from  the  i'tockade. 

The  country  adjacent  either  to  the  caft  or  weft 
fide  of  this  lake,  is  compofed  bur.  of  an  indifferent 
■foil,  except  where  fmall  brooks  or  rivers  empty 
thctnfelves  into  it;  on  the  banks  of  thefe  it  is  ex- 
tremely fertile.  Near  trie  borders  of  the  lake  grow 
a  great  number  of  land  cherries*  which  are  not  lefs 
remarkable  for  their  manner  of  growth,  than  for 
their  exquilite  flavor.  They  grow  upon  a  fmail 
ftirub,  not  more  than  four  feet  high,  the  boughs 
of  which  are  fo  loaded  that  they  lie  in  clutters  on 
the  fand.  As  they  grow  only  on  the  fand,  the 
warmth  of  which  probably  contributes  to  bring 
t'r.c.n  to  fuch  perfection;  they  are  called  by  the 
French,  cherries  de  fable,  or  fand  cherries.  The 
fize  of  them  does  not  exceed  that  of  a  fmall  muiket 
ball,  but, they  are  reckoned  fuperior  to  any  other 
fort  for  the  purpofe  of  fbeeping  in  fpirits.  There 
alfo  grow  around  the  lake,  goofeberries,  black  cur- 
rants, and  an  abundance  of  juniper,  bearing  great 
quantities  of  berries  of  the  ftneft  fort. 

Sumack  likewife  grows  here  in  great  plenty, 
the  leaf  of  which,  gathered  at  Michaelmas,  when  it 
turns  red,  is  much  eiteemed  by  the  natives.  They 
mix  about  an  equal  quantity  of  it  with  their  tobac- 
co, which  caufes  it  to  fmoke  pleaiantly.  Near  this 
lake,  and  indeed  about  ali  the  great  lakes5  is  found 
a  kind  of  willow,  termed  by  the  French,  bcis  rouge, 
in  Engliih,  red  wood.  Its  bark,  when  only  of  one 
years  growth,  is  of  aline  fcarlet  colour,  and  appears 
very  beautiful;  but  as  ic  grows  older,  it  changes  into 
a  mixture  of  grey  and  red.  The  ilaiiLs  of  this 
fhrub  grow  many  of  mem  together^  and  rife  to  the 
height  of  fix  or  eight  feet,  the  large fc  ndz  exceeding 


20 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


an  inch  diameter.  The  bark  being  fcraped  from 
the  flicks,  and  dried  and  powdered,  is  alio  mixed 
by  the  Indians  with  their  tobacco,  and  is  held  by 
them  in  the  higheft  eftimation  for  their  winter  fmok- 
ing.  A  weed  that  grows  near  the  great  lakes,  in 
rocky  places,  they  ule  in  the  fummer  feafon.  It 
is  called  by  the  Indians,  Segockimac,  and  creeps 
like  a  vine  on  the  ground,  fometimes  extending  to 
eight  or  ten  feet,  and  bearing  a  leaf  about  the  fize 
of  a  filver  penny,  nearly  round;  it  is  of  the  fub- 
ftance  and  colour  of  the  laurel,  and  is,  like  the  tree 
it  refembles,  an  evergreen.  Thefe  leaves,  dried 
and  powdered,  they  likewife  mix  witfi  their  to- 
bacco ;  and  as  faid  before,  fmoke  it  only  during  the 
fummer.  By  thefe  three  fuccedaneums,  the  pipes 
of  the  Indians  are  well  fupplied  through  every  fea- 
fon of  the  year;  and  as  they  are  great  fnokers, 
they  are  very  careful  in  properly  gather  .  pre- 

paring them. 

On  the  20th  of  September  I  left  the  Green  Bay, 
and  proceeded  up  Fox  River,  flill  in  company 
with  the  traders  and  fome  Indians.  On  the  25th 
I  arrived  at  the  great  town  of  the  Winnebagoes, 
fituated  on  a  fmali  ifland,  juft  as  you  enter  the  eaft 
end  of  Lake  Winnebago.  Here  the  queen  who 
prefided  over  this  tribe  initead  of  a  Sachem,  received 
me  with  great  civility,  and  entertained  me  in  a  very 
diftinguiihed  manner,  during  the  four  days  I  conti- 
nued with  her. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  I  held  a  council  with 
the  chiefs,  of  whom  I  alked  permiiiion  to  pais 
through  their  country,  in  my  way  to  more  remote 
nations,  on  bufinefs  of  importance.  This  was  rea- 
dily granted  me,  the  requeft  being  eiteemed  by 
them  as  a  great  compliment  paid  to  their  tribe. 
The  queen  fat  in  the  council,  but  only  afked  a  few 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  zi 

queftions,  or  gave  fome  trifling  directions  in  matters 
relative  to  the  ftate;  for  women  are  never  allowed 
to  fit  in  their  councils,  except  they  happen  to  be 
inverted  with  the  fupreme  authority,  and  then  it 
is  not  cuitomary  for  them  to  make  any  formal 
fpeeches  as  the  chiefs  do.  She  was  a  very  ancient 
woman,  final]  in  ftature,  and  not  much  diflinguiih- 
ed  by  her  drefs  from  feveral  young  women  that  at- 
tended her.  Thefe  her  attendants  feemed  greatly 
pleafed  whenever  I  mowed  any  tokens  of  refpecl  to 
their  queen,  par  v  when!  faluced  her,  which 

I  frequently  did  to  acquire  her  favour.  On  thefe 
Occasions  the  good  oiu  lady  endeavoured  to  afTume 
a  juvenile  gaiety,  and  by  her  fmiles  mowed  fhe 
was  equally  pieafedwith  the  attention  I  paid  her. 

The  time  I  tarried  here,  I  employed  in  making 
the  beft  obfervations  poiTible  on  the  country,  and 
in  collecting  the  moft  certain  intelligence  I  could, 
of  che  origin,  language,  and  cuitoms  of  this  people. 
From  thefe  enquiries  I  have  reafon  to  conclude, 
that  the  Winnebagoes  originally  refided  in  fome  of 
the  provinces  belonging  to  New  Mexico,  and  being 
driven  from  their  native  country,  either  by  interline 
divifions,  or  by  the  extenfions  of  the  Spanifh  con- 
queiis,  they  took  refuge  in  thefe  more  northern 
parts  about  a  century  ago. 

My  reafons  for  adopting  this  fuppofition,  are, 
Firft,  from  their  unalienable  attachment  to  the 
N?udoweflie  Indians  (who,  they  fay,  gave  them  the 
earlieft  fuccors  during  their  emigration)  notwith- 
ftanding  their  prefent  refidence  is  more  than  fix 
hundred  miles  aiftant  from  that  people. 

Secondly,  that  their  dialed  totally  differs  from 
every  other  Indian  nation  yet  difcovered;  it  being 
a  very  uncouth,  guttural  jargon,  which  none  of 
their  neighbours  will  attempt  to  learn.     They  con- 


22  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

verie  with  other  nations  in  the  Chipeway  tongue, 
which  is  the  prevailing  language  throughout  all 
the  tribes,  from  the  Mohawks  of  Canada,  to  thofe 
who  inhabit  the  borders  of  the  MiffnTippi,  and  from 
the  Hurons  and  Illinois  to  fuch  as  dwell  near  Hud- 
fon's  Bay. 

Thirdly,  from  their  inveterate  hatred  to  the  Spa- 
niards. Some  of  them  informed  me  that  they  had 
many  excurfions  to  the  fouth-weft,  which  took  up 
feveral  moons.  An  elderly  chief  mere  particularly 
acquainted  me,  that  about  forty- fix  winters  ago, 
he  marched  at  the  head  of  fifty  warriors,  towards 
the  foufh- weft,  for  three  moons.  That  during  this 
expedition,  whilft  they  were  crofting  a  plain,  they 
discovered  a  body  of  men  on  horfeback,  who  be- 
longed to  the  Biack  People ;  for  fo  they  call  the 
Spaniards.  As  foon  as  they  perceived  them,  they 
proceeded  with  caution,  and  concealed  themfelves 
till  night  came  on;  when  they  drew  fo  near  as  to  be 
be  able  to  difcern  the  number  and  fituation  of  their 
enemies.  Finding  they  were  not  able  to  cope  with 
ib  great  a  fuperiority  by  day-light,  they  waited  till 
they  had  retired  to  reft;  when  they  rufhed  upon 
them,  and,  after  having  killed  the  greateft  part  of 
the  men,  took  eighty  horfes  loaded  with  what  they 
termed  white  ftone.  This  I  fuppofe  to  have  been 
filver,  as  he  told  me  the  horfes  were  fhod  with  it, 
and  that  their  bridles  were  ornamented  with  the 
fame.  When  they  had  fatiated  their  revenge,  ihcy 
carried  off  their  fpoil,  and  being  got  i^o  far  as  to  be 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  Spaniards  that  had  efcaped 
their  fury,  they  left  the  ufelefs  and  ponderous  bur- 
then, with  which  the  horfes  were  loaded,  in  tne 
woods,  and  mounting-  themfelves,  in  this  manner 
returned  to  their  friends.  The  party  they  had  thus 
defeated,  I  conclude  to  be  the  cuiavanth.it  annually 
conveys  to  Mexico,  the  filver  which  the  Spaniards 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  25 

find  in  great  quantities  on  the  mountains  lying  near 
the  heads  of  the  Coleredo  River :  and  the  plains 
where  the  attack  was  made,  probably,  fome  they 
were  obliged  to  pafs  over  in  their  way  to  the  heads 
of  the  River  St.  Fee,  or  Rio  del  Nord,  which 
falls  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  to  the  weft  of  the 
Mifiiffippi. 

The  Winnebagoes  can  raife  about  two  hundred 
warriors.  Their  town  contains  about  fifty  houfes, 
which  are  ftrongly  built  with  pallifades,  and  the 
ifland  on  which  it  is  fituated,  nearly  fifty  acres.  It 
lies  thirty-five  miles,  reckoning  according  to  the 
courfe  of  the  river,  from  the  Green  Bay. 

The  river,  for  about  four  or  five  miles  from  the 
bay,  has  a  gentle  current  -,  after  that  fpace,  till  you 
arrive  at  the  Winnebago  Lake,  it  is  full  of  rocks 
and  very  rapid.  At  many  places  we  were  ob- 
liged to  land  our  canoes,  and  carry  them  a  con- 
fiderable  way.  Its  breadth,  in  general,  from  the 
Green  Bay  to  the  Winnebago  Lake,  is  between 
feventy  and  a  hundred  yards ;  the  land  on  its  bor- 
ders very  good,  and  thinly  wooded  with  hickory, 
oak,  and  hazel. 

The  Winnebago  Lake  is  about  fifteen  miles  long 
from  eaft  to  weft,  and  fix  miles  wide.  At  its  fouth- 
eaft  corner,  a  river  falls  into  it  that  takes  its  rife 
near  fome  of  the  northern  branches  of  the  Illinois 
River.  This  I  called  the  Crocodile  River,  in  con- 
fequence  ofaftory  that  prevails  among  the  Indians, 
©f  their  having  deftroyed,  in  fome  part  of  it,  an  ani- 
mal, which  from  their  defcription  muft  be  a  croco- 
dile or  an  alligator. 

The  land  adjacent  to  the  Lake  is  very  fertile, 
abounding  with  grapes,    plumbs,    and  other  fruits, 


24  CARVER's     TRAVELS. 

which  grow  fpontaneoufly.  The  Winnebagocs 
raife  on  it  a  great  quantity  cf  Indian  corn,  beans, 
pumpkins,  fquafhes,  and  water  melons,  with  feme 
tobacco.  The  Lake  itfelf  abounds  with  rili,  and  in 
the  fall  of  the  year,  with  gecfe3  ducks,  ?.na  teal. 
The  latter,  which  re  fort  to  it  in  great  numbers,  are 
remarkably  good  and  extremely  fat,  and  are  much 
better  flavored  than  thofe  that  are  found  near  the  lea, 
as  they  acquire  their  exceffive  fatnefs  by  feeding  on 
the  wild  rice,  which  grows  fo  plentifully  in  theft 
parts. 

Having  made  fome  acceptable  prefents  to  the 
good  old  queen,  and  received  her  blefling,  I  left  the 
town  of  the  Winnebagoes  on  the  29th  of  September, 
and  about  twelve  miles  from  it,  arrived  at  the  place 
were  the  Fox  River  enters  the  Lake  on  the  north 
fide  of  it.  We  proceeded  up  this  river,  and  on  the 
7th  of  October  reached  the  great  carrying  place, 
which  divides  it  from  the   Ouifconfin. 

The  Fox  River,  from  the  Green  Bay  to  the  Car- 
rying  Place,  is  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles, 
From  the  W  innebago  Lake  to  the  Carrying  place  the 
current  is  gentle,  and  the  depth  of  it  confiderable  ; 
notwithstanding  which,  it  is  in  fome  places  with 
difficulty  that  canoes  can  pais  though  the  obftructi- 
ons  they  meet  with  from  the  rice  italics,  which  are 
very  large  and  thick,  and  grow  here  in  great  abun- 
dance. The  country  around  it  is  very  fertile,  and 
proper  in  the  hio-heft  degree  for  cultivation,  except- 
ing in  fome  places  near  the  river,  where  it  is  rather 
too  low.  It  is  in  no  part  very  woody,  and  yet  can 
fupply  fufficient  to  anfwer  the  demands  of  any  num- 
ber of  inhabitants.  This  river  is  the  greater!  refort 
Of  Wild  fowl  of  every  kind,  that  I  met  with  in  the 
whole  courfe  of  my  travels  ;  frequently  the  fun  would 
be  obfeured  by  them  for  fome  minutes  together- 


CARVER'S    TRAVEL  S,  z5 

About  forty  miles  up  this  river*  from  the  great 
town  of  the  VYinnebagoes,  Hands  a  fmaller  town  be- 
longing to  that  nation. 

Deer  and  bears  are  veiy   numerous  in  tfceie  parts*' 
and  a  great  many  beavers  and  other  furs  are    taken 
on  the  ft  reams    that  empty  themfelves  into thisrivvr. 

The  river  lam  treating  of,  is  remarkable  for  hav- 
ing been,  about  eighty  years  agOj  the  refidence  of 
the  united  bands  of  the  Ottigaumies  and  the  Saukies, 
whom  the  French,  had  nicknamed  according  to 
their  wonted  cultom,  Des  Sacs  and  Des  Reynards, 
the  Sacks  and  the  Foxes,  of  whom  the  following 
anecdote  was  related  to  me  by  an  Indian, 

About  fixty  years  ago,  the  French  miflionaries 
and  traders  having  received  many  infults-from  thefe 
people,  a  party  of  French  and  Indians,  under  the 
command  of  captain  Morand  marched  to  revenge 
their  wrongs.  The  captain  fet  out  from  the  Green 
Bay  in  the  winter,  when  they  were  unfufpicious  of 
a  vifitof  this  kind,  and  purfuing  his  route  over  the 
fnow  to  their  villages,  which  lay  about  fifty  miles 
up  the  Fox  River,  came  upon  them  by  furprife. 
Unprepared  as  they  were,  he  found  them  an  eafy 
conquer!,  and  confequently  killed  or  took  prifoners 
the  greateft  part  of  them.  On  the  return  of  the 
French  to  the  Green  Bay,  one  of  the  Indian  chiefs  in 
alliance  with  them,  who  had  a  considerable  band  of 
the  prifoners  under  his  care,  flopped  to  drink  at  a 
brook  ;  in  the  mean  time  his  companions  went  on  : 
which  being  obferved  by  one  of  the  women  whom 
they  had  made  captive,  me  fuddenly  feized  him 
with  both  her  hands,  whilft  he  ftooped  to  drink, 
by  an  exquifitely  fufceptible  part,  and  held  him  fail 
till  he  expired  on  the  foot.     As  the    chief  from  the 

P 


26  CAR  V  E  I; ' ;     T  R  A  V  ELS. 

extreme  torture  he  fuflcred,  was  unable  to  call  out 
to  his  friends,  or  to  give  any  alarm,  they  palTed  on 
without  knowing  what  had  happened  -,  and  the  wo- 
man having  cut  the  bands  of'  thofe  of  her  fellow 
priibners  who  were  in  the  rear,  with  them  made  her 
efcape.  This  heroine  was  ever  after  treated  by 
her  nation  as  their  deliverer,  and  made  a  chiefefs  in 
her  own  right,  with  libertv  to  entail  the  fame  honor 
on  her  defendants  ;  an  unufual  diftinction,  and  per- 
mitted only  on  extraordinary  occanons. 

About  twelve  miles  before  I  reached  the  Carrying 
Place,  I  obfervedfeveral  fmall  mountains  which  ex- 
tended quite  to  it.  Thefe  indeed  would  only  be 
efceemed  as  molehills,  when  compared  with  thofe 
on  the  back  of  the  colonies,  but  as  they  were  the 
firftlhadfeen  tince  my  leaving  Niagara,  a  track  of 
nearly  eleven  hundred  miles,  I  could  not  leave  them 
unnoticed. 

The  Fox  River,  where  it  enters  the  Winnebago 
Lake,  is  about  fifty  yards  wide,  but  it  gradually  de- 
creafes  to  the  Carrying  Place,  where  it  is  no  more 
than  five  yards  over,  except  in  a  few  places  where  it 
widens  into  fmall  lakes,  though  ftill  of  a  confidera- 
ble  depth.  I  cannot  recollect  any  thing  elfe  that  is 
remarkable  in  this  river,  except  that  it  is  lb  ferpen- 
tine  for  five  miles,  as  only  to  gain  in  that  place  one 
quarter  of  a  mile. 

The  Carrying  Place  between  the  Fox  and  Guif- 
coniin  Rivers  is  in  breadth  not  more  than  a  mile 
and  three  quarters,  though  in  fome  maps  it  is  fo  de- 
lineated as  to  appear  to  be  ten  miles.  And  here  I 
cannot  help  remarking,  that  all  the  maps  of  thefe 
parts,  I  have  ever  feen,  are  very  erroneous.  The 
rivers  in  general  are  defcribed  as  running  in  different 
directions  from  wThat    they  really   do  -,  and   many 


C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVELS. 


27 


branches  of  them,  particularly  of  the  Miflifilppi, 
omitted.  The  diftances  of  places,likewile,  are  great- 
ly mifreprefented.  Whether  this  is  done  by  the 
French  geographers  (for  the  Englilh  maps  are  all 
copied  from  theirs)  through  defigH,  or  for  want  of  a 
juit  knowledge  of  the  country,  I  cannot  fay;  but! 
am  fatisfied  that  travellers  who  depend  upon  them  in 
the  parts  I  vifited,  willfind  themfclvesrnuchatalofs. 

Near  one  half  of  the  way,  between  the  rivers,  is 
a  morals  overgrown  with  a  kind  of  long  grafs,  the 
reft  of  it  a  plain  with  fome  few  oak  and  pins  trees 
growing  thereon.  lobfcrved  here  a  great  number 
of  rattle-fnakes.  Monf.  Pinnifance,  a  French  tra- 
der, told  me  a  remarkable  ftory  concerning  one  of 
thefe  reptiles,  of  which  he  faid,  he  was  an  eye-wit- 
nefs.  An  Indian,  belonging  to  the  Menomonie  na- 
tion, having  taken  one  of  them,  found  means  to 
tame  it  y  and  when  he  had  done  this,  treated  it  as  a 
Deity  ;  calling  it  his  Great  Father,  and  carrying  it 
with  him,  in  a  box,  wherever  he  went.  This  the 
Indian  had  done  for  feveral  fummers,  when  Monf- 
Pinnifance  accidently  met  with  him  at  his  carrying 
place,  j uft  as  he  was  fetting  off  for  a  winter's  hunt. 
The  French  gentleman  was  fupprifed,  one  day,  to 
fee  the  Indian  place  the  box  which  contained  his  god, 
on  the  ground,  and  opening  the  door,  give  him  his 
liberty  ;  telling  him,  whilft  he  did  it,  to  be  fure  and 
return  by  the  time  he  himfelf  mould  come  back, 
which  was  to  be  in  the  month  of  May  following.  As 
this  was  but  October,  Monfieur  told  the  Indian, 
whofe  fimplicity  aftonifhedhim,  that  he  fancied  he 
might  wait  long  enough  when  May  arrivecj,  for  the 
arrival  of  his  great  father.  The  Indian  was  fo  con- 
fident of  his  creature's  obedience,  that  he  offered  to 
lay  the  Frenchman  a  wager  of  two  gallons  of  rum, 
that  at  the  time  appointed  he  would  come  and  crawl 
into  his  box.     This  was  agreed  on,  and  the    fecond 


2M  CARVE  R>s     TRAVELS. 

week  in  May  following,  fixed  for  the  determination 
of  the  wager.  At  that  period  they  both  met  there 
again  ;  when  the  Indian  ret  down  his  box,  and  called 
for  his  great  father.  The  fnake  heard  him  not  ; 
and  the  time  being  now  expired,  he  acknowledged 
that  he  had  loft.  However,  without  feeming  to  be 
dilcouraged,  he  offered  to  double  the  bet,  if  his 
great  father  came  not  within  two  days  more.  This 
was  further  agreed  on  ;  when  behold  on  the  fecond 
day,  about  one  o'clock,  the  fnake  arrived,  and,  of  his 
own  accord  crawled  into  the  box,  which  was  plac- 
ed ready  for  him.  The  French  gentleman  vouched 
for  the  truth  of  this  flory,  and  from  the  accounts 
I  have  often  received  of  the  docility  of  thofe  crea- 
tures, I  fee  no  reafon  to  doubt  his  veracity. 

I  obferved  that  the  main  body  of  the  Fox  River 
came  from  the  fouth-weft,  that  of  the  Ouifconfm 
from  the  north-earl  ;  andalfo  that  fome  of  the  fmalL 
branches  of  thefe  two  rivers, in  defcending  into  them, 
doubled,  within  a  few  feet  of  each  other,  a  little  to 
the  fcuth  of  the  Carrying  Place.  That  two  fuch 
fhould  take  their  rife  foneir  each  other,  and  after  run- 
ning different  courfes,  empty  themfelves  into  the 
fea,  at  a  diftance  fo  amazing  (for  the  former  hav- 
ing parTed  through  feveral  great  lakes,  and  run  up- 
wards of  two  thouiand  miles,  falls  into  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence,  and  the  other,  after  joining  the  Mif- 
fifTippi,  and  having  run  an  equal  number  of  miles, 
difembogues  itfelf  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  )  is  an 
inftance  icarcelyto  be  met  in  the  extenfive  conti- 
nent of  North-America.  I  had  an  apportunity  the 
year  following,  of  making  the  fame  observations  on 
the  affinfiy  of  various  head  branches  of  the  waters  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  MiiTifiippi,  to  each  other  ; 
and  now  bring  them  as  a  proof,  that  the  opinion  of 
thofe  geographers  who  afTert,  that  rivers  taking  their 
rife  fo  near  each  other,  muft  fpring  from   the  fame 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  29 

fource,  is  erroneous.  For  I  perceived  a  vifibly  dif- 
ftincT:  reparation  in  all  of  them,  notwithftandng,  in 
tome  places,  they  approached  fo  near,  that  I  could 
have  ftepped  from  the  one  to  the  other. 

On  the  8th  of  October  we  got  our  canoes  into  the 
Ouifconfin  River,  which  at  this  place  is  more  than 
a  hundred  yards  wide  -,  and  the  next  day  arrived  at 
the  Great  Town  of  the  Saukies.  This  is  the  largeft 
and  beft  built  Indian  town  I  ever  faw.  It  contains, 
about  ninety  houfes,  each  large  enough  for  feveral 
families.  Thefe  are  built  of  hewn  plank,  neatly 
jointed,  and  covered  with  bark  fo  compactly  as  to 
keep  out  the  mod  penetrating  rains.  Before  the 
doors  are  placed  comfortable  fheds,  in  which,  the  in- 
habitants fit,  when  the  weather  will  permit,  and 
imoke  their  pipes.  The  ftreets  are  regular  and  fpa- 
cious  ;  fo  that  it  appears  more  like  a  civilized  town, 
than  the  abode  of  favages.  The  land  near  the  town 
is  very  good.  In  their  plantations,  which  lie  ad- 
jacent to  their  houfes,  and  which  are  neatly  laid  out, 
they  raife  great  quantities  of  Indian  corn,  beans,  me- 
lons, &c.  fo  that  this  place  is  efteemed  the  bell  mar- 
ket for  traders  to  furnifh  themfelves  with  provifions, 
of  any  within  efjght  hundred  miles  of  it. 

The  Saukiescan  raife  about  three  hundred  war- 
riors, who  are  generally  employed  every  fummer  in 
making  incurfions  into  the  territories  of  the  Illinois 
and  Pawnee  nations,  from  whence  they  return  with  a 
great  number  of  (laves.  But  thofe  people  frequent- 
ly retaliate,  and  in  their  turn,  deflroy  many  of  the 
Saukies,  which  I  judge  to  be  the  reafon  that  they 
increafe  no  fader. 

Whilft  I  ftaidhere,  I  took  a  viewoffome  moun- 
tains that  lie  about  fifteen  miles  to  the  fouthward, 
and  abound  in  lead  ore.     I  afcended   on  one  o.: 


3o  CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 

higheft  cf  thefe,  and  had  an  extenfive  view  of  the 
country.  For  many  miles  nothing  was  to  be  ieen 
but  lefTer  mountains,  which  appeared  at  a  diftance 
like  haycocks,  they  being  free  from  trees.  Only  a 
few  groves  of  hickory,  and  (hinted  oaks,  covered 
fome  of  the  vallies.  So  plentiful  is  lead  here,  that 
I  law  large  quantities  of  it  lying  about  the  ftreets  in 
the  town  belonging  to  the  Saukies,  and  it  feemed  to 
be  as  good  as  the  produce  of  other  countries. 

On  the  ioth  of  October  we  proceeded  down  the 
river,  and  the  next  day  reached  the  firft  town  of  the 
Ottigaumies.This  town  contained  about  fifty  houfes, 
but  we  found  moil  of  them  deferted,  on  account 
cf  an  epidemical  diforder  that  had  lately  raged 
among  them,  and  carried  off  more  than  one  half  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  greater  part  ofthofe  who  fur- 
vived,  had  retired  into  the  woods,  to  avoid  the  con- 


tagion. 


On  the  15th,  we  entered  that  extenfive  river  the 
Miffifllppi.  The  Ouifconfin,  from  the  Carrying. 
Place  to  the  part  where  it  falls  into  the  Mifliflippi, 
flows  with  a  fmooth,  but  ftrong  current  j  the  water 
of  it  is  exceedingly  clear,  and  through  it  you  may 
perceive  a  fine  and  fandy  bottom,  tolerably  free 
from  rocks.  In  it  are  a  few  iflands,  the  foil  of  which 
appeared  to  be  good,  though  fomewhat  woody. 
The  land  near  the  river  alfo  feemed  to  be,  in  gene- 
ral, excellent  -,  but  that  at  a  diftance  is  very  full  of 
mountains,  where  it  is  faid  there  are  many  lead 
mines. 

About  five  miles  from  the  junction  of  the  rivers, 
I  obferved  the  ruins  cfa  large  town,  in  a  very 
pjeafing  fituation.  On  enquiring  of  the  neighbour- 
ing Indians,  why  it  was  thus  deferted,!  was  informed, 
that  about  thirty  years  ago,  the  Great  Spirit  had  ap- 
peared on  the  top  of  a  pyramid  of  rocks,  which  lay 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 


31 


at  a  little  diilance  from  it,  towards  the  weft,  and 
warned  them  to  quit  their  habitations  -,  for  the  land 
on  which  they  were  built  belonged  to  him,  and  he 
had  occafion  for  it.  As  a  proof  that  he,  who  gave 
rhem  thefe  orders  was,  really  the  Great  Spirit,  he 
further  told  them  that,  the grafs  mould  immediately 
fpring  up  on  thofe  very  rocks  from  whence  he  now 
addreffed  them,  which  they  kaew  to  be  bare  and 
barren.  The  Indians  obeyed,  and  foon  after  dis- 
covered that  this  miraculous  alteration  had  taken 
place.  They  fhewed  me  the  fpot,  but  the  growth  of 
the  grafs  appeared  to  be  no  way  fupernatural.  1 
apprehend  this  to  have  been  a  ftratagem  of  the 
French  or  Spaniards,  to  anfwer  fome  felfifh  view ; 
but  in  what  manner  they  effected  their  purpofes  I 
know  not. 

This  people,  foon  after  their  removal,  built  a 
town  on  the  bank  of  the  Miffiffippi,  near  the  mouth 
of  theOuifconfin,  at  a  place  called  by  the  French  La 
Prairies  les  Ch  iens,  which  Signifies  the  Dog  Plains ; 
k  is  a  large  town,  and  contains  about  three  hundred 
families  ;  the  houfes  are  well  built  after  the  Indian 
manner,  and  pleafantly  Situated  on  a  very  rich  foil, 
from  which  they  raife  every  neceffary  of  life  in  great 
abundance.  I  faw  here  many  horfes  of  a  good  fize 
and  fhape.  This  town  is  the  great  mart  where  all 
the  adjacent  tribes,  and  even  thofe  who  inhabit  the 
moll:  remote  branches  of  the  Miffiffippi,  annually 
affemble  about  the  latter  end  of  May,  bringing  with 
rhem  their  furs  to  difpofe  of  to  the  traders.  But  it 
is  not  always  that  they  conclude  their  fale  here  ; 
this  is  determined  by  a  general  council  of  the  chiefs, 
who  confult  whether  it  would  be  more  conducive  to 
their  intereft,  to  fell  their  goods  at  this  place,  or  car- 
ry them  on  to  Louifiana,  or  Michillimackinac.  Ac- 
cording to  thedecifion  of  this  council,  they  either 
proceed  further^  or  return  to  their  different  homes. 


t  A  K  V  E  R  '  s       T  R  A  V  E  L  5 

The  Mifliffippi,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Ouifconfin, 
near  which  Hands  a  mountain  of  confiderablc 
height,  is  about  half  a  mile  over  ;  but  opponte  to 
the  laft  mentioned  town  it  appears  to  be  more  than 
a  mile  wide,  and  full  of  iilands,  the  foil  ofwhich  is 
extraordinary  rich,  and  but  thinly  wooded. 

A  little  further  to  the  weft,  on  the  contrary  fide, 
a  fmall  river  falls  into  the  MiiTiiiippi,  which  the 
French  call  Le  J  aim  Riviere,  or  the  Yellow  River. 
Here  the  traders  who  had  accompanied  me  hither- 
to, took  up  their  residence  for  the  winter.  I  then 
bought  a  canoe,  and  with  two  fervants,  one  a  French 
Canadian,  and  the  other  a  Mohawk  of  Canada,  en 
*he  1 9th  proceeded  up  the  MifiifTippi. 

About  ten  days  after  I  had  parted  from  the  trad- 
ers, I  landed  as  I  ufually  did,  every  evening,  and 
having  pitched  my  tent,  I  ordered  my  men,  when 
.night  came  on,  to  lay  themfelves  down  to  deep.  By 
a  light  that  I  kept  burning  I  then  fat  down  to  copy 
the  minutes  I  had  taken  in  the  courfe  of  the  pre- 
ceding day.  About  ten  o'clock,  having  juft  finifh- 
ed  my  memorandums,  I  itepped  out  of  my  tent  to 
fee  what  weather  it  was.  As  1  caft  my  eyes  to- 
wards the  bank  of  the  river,  I  thought  I  law  by  the 
light  of  the  ftars,  which  fhone  bright,  fomething  that 
had  the  appearance  of  a  herd  of  beafts,  coming  down 
a  defcent  at  fome  diftance  ;  whilft  I  was  wonder- 
ing what  they  could  be,  one  of  the  number  fuddenly 
fprung  up_,anddifcovered  to  me  the  form  of  a  man. 
In  an  inftant  they  were  ail  on  their  legs,  and  I  could 
count  about  ten  or  twelve  of  them  running  towards 
me.  I  immediately  re-entered  the  tent,  and  having 
awakened  my  men,  ordered  them  to  take  their  arms, 
and  follow  me.  As  my  firft  apprehenfions  were  for 
my  canoe,  I  ran  to  the  water's  fide,  and  found  a  party 


CARVE  R's     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

of  Indians  (for  fuch  I  now  difcovered  them  to  be) 
on  the  point  of  plundering  it.  Before  I  reached 
them,  I  commanded  my  men  no:  to  lire  till  I  had 
given  the  word,  being  unwiliing  to  begin  hostilities 
unlefs  occafion  abfoiutely  required.  I  accordingly 
advanced  with  refolution,  dole  to  the  points  of  their 
fpears,  they  had  no  other  weapons,  and  brandifh- 
•ing  my  hanger,  afked  them  with  a  Hern  voice,  what 
they  wanted?  They  were  ftaggered  at  this,  and 
perceiving  they  were  like  to  meet  witli  a  warm  re- 
ception,  turned  about  and  precipitately  retreated. 
We  purfued  them  to  an  adjacent  wood,  which  they 
entered,  and  we  law  no  more  of  them.  However, 
for  fear  of  their  return,  we  watched  alternately  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  night.  The  next  day  my 
iervants  were  under  great  apprehenfions,  and  ear- 
nestly entreated  me  to  return  to  the  traders  we  had 
lately  left.  But  I  told  them,  that  if  they  would  not 
be  eiteemed  old  women  (a  term  of  the  greater!  re- 
proach among  the  Indians)  they  muft  follow  me;  for 
I  was  determined  to  purfue  my  intended  route,  as  an 
Englishman,  when  once  engaged  in  an  adventure, 
never  retreated.  On  this  they  got  into  the  canoe, 
and  I  walked  on  the  fhore  to  guard  them  from  any 
further  attack.  The  party  of  Indians  who  had  thus 
intended  to  plunder  me,  I  afterwards  found  to  be 
fome  of  thofe  ftraggling  bands,  that  having  been 
driven  from  among  the  different  tribes  to  which  they 
belonged,  for  various  crimes,  now  ailbciated  them- 
felves  together,  and,  living  by  plunder,  prove  very 
troublefome  to  travellers  who  pafs  this  way  $  nor 
are  even  Indians  of  every  tribe  fpared  by  them.  The 
traders  had  before  cautioned  me  to  be  upon  my 
guard  againfl  them,  and  I  would  repeat  the  fame 
caution  to  thofe  whofe  bufmefs  might  call  them  into 
thefe  parts. 


34  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

On  the  i  ft  of  November  I  arrived  at  Lake  p€pin> 
which  is  rather  an  extended  part  of  the  river  Mif- 
iiffippi,  that  the  French  have  thus  denominated^ 
but  two  hundred  miles  from  the  Ouifconfin.  The 
MifiirTippi  below  this  lake,  flows  with  a  gentle  cur- 
rent, but  the  breadth  of  it  is  very  uncertain,  in 
fome  places  it  being  upwards  of  a  mile,  in  others 
not  more  than  a  quarter.  This  river  has  a  range 
of  mountains  on  each  fide  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  way ;  which  in  particular  parts  approach  near 
to  it,  in  others  lie  at  a  greater  diftance.  The  land 
betwixt  the  mountains,  and  on  their  fides,  is  ge- 
nerally covered  with  grafs,  with  a  few  groves  of 
trees  interfperfed,  near  which,  large  droves  of  deer 
and  elk  are   frequently  feen  feeding. 

In  many  places  pyramids  of  rocks  appeared,  re- 
fembling  old  ruinous  towers;  at  others  amazing 
precipices;  and  what  is  very  remarkable,  whilft 
this  fcene  prefented  itfelf  on  one  fide,  the  oppofite 
i'ide  of  the  fame  mountain  was  covered  with  the 
nneft  herbage,  which  gradually  afcended  to  its 
fummit.  From  thence  the  mod  beautiful  and  ex- 
tenfive  profpect  that  imagination  can  form,  opens 
to  your  view.  Verdant  plains,  fruitful  meadows, 
numerous  iflands,  and  all  thefe  abounding  with  a  va- 
riety of  trees  that  yield  amazing  quantities  of  fruit, 
without  care  or  cultivation;  fuch  as  the  nut-tree, 
the  maple  which  produces  fugar,  vines  loaded  wTith 
rich  grapes,  and  plum-trees  bending  under  their 
blooming  burdens,  but  above  all,  the  fine  river  flow-- 
ing  gently  beneath,  and  reaching  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  extend,  by  turns  attract  your  admiration  and 
excite  your  wender. 

The  Lake  is  about  twenty  miles  long,  and  near 
fix  in  breadth  ;  in  fome  places  it  is  very  deep,  and 
abounds  with  various  kinds  of  fifn.     Great  num.- 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  5$ 

bers  of  fowl  frequent  alfo  this  Lake  and  the  rivers 
adjacent  i  fuch  as  ftoiks,  fwans,  geefe,  brants,  and 
ducks:  and  in  the  groves  are  found  great  plenty 
of  turkeys  and  partridges.  On  the  plains  are  the 
largefc  buffaloes  of  any  in  America.  Here  I  ob- 
ferved  the  ruins  of  a  French  factory,  where  it  is  faid 
captain  St.  Pierre  refided,  and  carried  on  a  very 
great  trade  with  the  Naudoweflies,  before  the  reduc- 
tion of  Canada. 

About  fixty  miles  below  this  Lake  is  a  moun- 
tain remarkably  fituated;  for  it  ftands  by  itfelf 
exactly  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  looks  as  it" 
it  had  Hidden  from  the  adjacent  ihore  into  the  firearm 
It  cannot  be  termed  an  ifland,  as  it  rifes  immedi- 
diateiy  from  the  brink  of  the  water  to  a  considerable 
height.  Both  the  Indians  and  the  French  call  it 
the  Mountain  in  the  river. 

One  day  having  landed  on  the  ihore  of  the  Mif- 
fiflippi,  fome  miles  below  Lake  Pepin,  whilft  my 
attendants  were  preparing  my  dinner,  I  walked  out 
to  take  a  view  of  the  adjacent  country.  I  had  not 
proceeded  far,  before  I  came  to  a  fine,  level,  open. 
plain,  on  which  I  perceived  at  a  little  diftance,  a  par- 
tial elevation  that  had  the  appearance  of  anintrench- 
ment.  On  a  nearer  infpedtion  I  had  greater  reafon 
to  fuppofe  that  it  had  really  been  intended  for  this 
many  centuries  ago.  Notwithstanding  it  was  now 
covered  with  grafs,  I  could  plainly  dileern  that  in 
had  once  been  a  breaft-work  of  about  four  feet  in 
height,  extending  the  beft  part  of  a  mile,  and  fuffi- 
ciently  capacious  to  cover  five  thoufand  men.  Ics 
form  was  fomewhat  circular,  and  its  flanks  reached 
to  the  river.  Though  much  defaced  by  time,  every 
angle  was  diftinguilhable,  and  appeared  as  regular, 
and  fafhioned  with  as  much  military  fkill,  as  if 
planned  by  Vauban  himfelfT    The  ditch  was  not 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

vifible,  but  I  thought  en  examining  more  curioufly, 
that  I  could  perceive  there  certainly  had  been  one. 
From  its  fituaeion  a]fo,  lam  convinced  that  it  muft 
have  been  deiigned  for  this  purpoie.  It  fronted  the 
country,  and  the  rear  was  covered  by  the  river  5 
nor  was  there  any  riling  ground  for  a  confiderable 
way,  that  commanded  it,  a  few  iiraggling  oaks 
were  alone  to  be  ken  near  it.  In  many  places 
finall  tracts  were  worn  acrofs  it  by  the  feet  of  the 
elks  and  deer,  and  from  the  depth  of  the  bed  of 
earth  by  which  it  was  covered,  I  was  able  to  draw 
certain  conelufiorrj  of  its  great  antiquity.  I  exa- 
mined all  the  angles,  and  every  part  with  great  at- 
tention, and  have  often  blamed  myfelf  fince,  for 
not  encamping  on  the  fpot,  and  drawing  an  exact 
plan  of  it.  To  ihew  that  this  defcription  is  not  the 
offspring  of  a  heated  imagination,  or  the  chimerical 
tale  of  a  miftaken  traveller,  I  find  on  enquiry  fince 
my  return,  that  Monf,  St.  Pierre  and  feverai  tra- 
ders, have,  at  different  times,  taken  notice  of  fimi- 
lar  appearances,  on  which  they  have  formed  the 
fame  conjectures,  but  without  examining  them  fo 
minutely  as  I  did.  How  a  work  of  this  kind  could 
exit  in  a  Country  that  has  hitherto  (according  to  the 
general  received  opinion)  been  the  feat  of  war  to 
untutored  Indians  alone,  whofe  whole  ilock  of  mili- 
tary knowledge  has  only,  till  within  two  centuries, 
amounted  to  drawing  the  bow,  and  whofe  only 
breaft-work,  even  at  prefent,  is  the  thicket,  I 
know  not.  -I  have  given  as  exact  an  account  as 
poffible,  of  this  lingular  appearance,  and  leave  to 
future  explorers  of  tiiefe  dilcant  regions,  to  difcover 
whether  it  is  a  production  of  nature  or  art. 

Perhaps  the  hints  I  have  here  given,  might 
lead  to  a  more  perfect  in ve [ligation  ot  it,  and  give 
up  very  different  ideas>6f  the  ancient  ftate  of  realms 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  37 

that  we  at  prefent  believe  to  have  been  from  the 
earlicft  period  only  the  habitations  of  favages. 

The  MirTifTippi,  as  far  as  the  entrance  of  the 
river  St.  Croix  -,  thirty  miles  above  Lake  Pepin, 
is  very  full  of  iflands;  fome  of  which  are  of  a  con- 
siderable length.  On  thefe  alio,  grow  great  num- 
bers of  the  maple  or  fugar  tree,  and  around  them, 
vines  loaded  with  grapes,  creeping  to  their  very 
tops.  From  the  Lake  upwards,  few  mountains  are 
to  be  feen,  and  thofe  but  fmall.  Near  the  river 
St.  Croix,  refide  three  bands  of  the  Naudoweffie 
Indians,  called  the  River  Bands. 

This  nation  is  compofed,  at  prefent,  of  eleven 
bands.  They  were  originally  twelve  -,  but  the  Affi- 
nipoils  fome  years  ago,  revolting,  and  feparating 
themfelves  from  the  others,  there  remain  only  at 
this  time  eleven.  Thofe  I  met  here  are  termed  the 
River  Bands;  becaufe  they  chiefly  dwell  near  the 
banks  of  this  River ;  the  other  eight  are  generally 
diftinguifhed  by  the  title,  NaudoweiTks  of  the  Plains, 
and  inhabit  a  country  that  lies  more  to  the  weft- 
ward.  The  names  of  the  former  are  the  Nehoga- 
tav/onahs,  the  Mawtawbauntowahs,  and  the  Shah- 
fweentowahs,  and  coniift  of  about  four  hundred 
warriors. 

A  little  before  I  met  with  thefe  three  bands,  I 
fell  in  with  a  party  of  the  Mawtawbauntowahs, 
amounting  to  forty  warriors  and  their  families.  With 
thefe  I  refided  a  day  or  two,  during  which  time 
five  or  fix  of  their  number  who  had  been  cut  on  an 
excurfion,  returned  in  great  hafte,  and  acquainted 
their  companions  that  a  large  party  of  the  Chipe- 
way  warriors,  C£  enough/'  as  they  cxprefTecl  them- 
felves, iC  to  fwallow  them  all  up,"  were  clofe  at 
their  heels,  and  on  the  point  of  attcking  their  little 


38  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

camp.  The  chiefs  applied  to  me,  and  defired  I 
woaid  put  myfelf  at  their  head,  and  lead  them  out 
to  oppofe  their  enemies.  As  I  was  a  ftranger,  and 
unwilling  to  excite  the  anger  of  either  nation,  I 
knew  not  how  to  act;  and  never  found  myfelf  in  a 
greater  dilemma.  Had  I  refufed  to  aflift  the  Nau- 
doweflies I  mould  have  drawn  on  myfelf  their  dif- 
pleafure,  or  had  I  met  the  Chipeways  with  hoftile 
intentions,  I  mould  have  made  that  people  my  foes, 
and  had  I  been  fortunate  enough  to  have  elcaped 
their  arrows  at  this  time,  on  fome  future  occafion 
mould  probably  have  experienced  the  feverity  of 
their  revenge.  In  this  extremity  I  chofe  the  middle 
courfe,  and  defired  that  the  Naudoweflies  would 
fuffer  me  to  meet  them,  that  I  might  endeavour  to 
avert  their  fury.  To  this  they  reluctantly  afTented, 
being  perfuaded,  from  the  inveteracy  which  had  long 
prevailed  between  them,  that  my  remonftrances 
would  be  in  vain. 

Taking  my  Frenchman  with  me,  who  could 
fpeak  their  language,  I  haftened  towards  the  place 
where  the  Chipeways  were  fuppofed  to  be.  The 
Naudoweflies,  during  this,  kept  at  a  diftance  be- 
hind. As  I  approached  them  with  the  pipe  of  peace, 
a  fmall  party  of  their  chiefs,  confifting  of  about 
eighc  or  ten,  came  in  a  friendly  manner  towards 
me;  with  whom,  by  the  means  of  my  interpreter, 
I  held  a  long  converfation  ;  the  refult  of  which  was, 
that  their  rancor  being  by  my  perfuafions  in  fome 
meafure  mollified,  they  agreed  to  return  back,  with- 
out accomplifhing  their  favage  purpofes.  During 
our  difcourfe  I  could  perceive,  as  they  lay  fcattered 
about,  that  the  party  was  very  numerous,  and  many 
of  them  armed  with  mufkets. 

Having  happily  fucceeded  in  my  undertaking,  I 
returned  without  delay  to  the   Naudoweflies,    and 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  39 

defired  they  would  inftantly  remove  their  camp  to 
ibme  other  part  of  the  country,  left  their  enemies 
fhould  repent  of  the  promile  they  had  given,  and 
put  their  intentions  in  execution.  They  accord- 
ingly followed  my  advice,  and  immediately  pre- 
pared to  ftrike  their  tents.  Whilft  they  were  doing 
this,  they  loaded  me  with  thanks ;  and  when  I 
had  feen  them  on  board  their  canoes,  I  purlued  my 
route. 

To  this  adventure  I  was  chiefly  indebted  for  the 
friendly  reception  I  afterwards  met  with  from  the 
Naudoweflies  of  the  Plains,  and  for  the  refpecl:  and 
honors  I  received  during  my  abode  among  them. 
And  when  I  arrived  many  months  after  at  the  Chi- 
peway  village,  near  the  Ottowaw  lakes,  I  found  that 
my  fame  had  reached  that  place  before  me.  The 
chief  received  me  with  great  cordiality,  and  the 
elder  part  of  them  thanked  me  for  the  mifchief  I 
had  prevented..  They  informed  me,  that  the  war 
between  their  nation  and  the  Naudoweflies  had  con- 
tinued without  interruption  for  more  than  forty  win- 
ters. That  they  had  long  wifhed  to  put  an  end  to  it, 
but  this  was  generally  prevented  by  the  young  war- 
riors of  either  nation,  who  could  not  reflrain  their 
ardor  when  they  met.  They  faid,  they  mould  be 
happy  if  fome  chief  of  the  fame  pacific  difpofition, 
as  myfelf,  and  who  pofTefTed  an  equal  degree  of  re- 
folution  and  coolnefs,  would  fettle  in  the  country 
between  the  two  nations  j  for  by  the  interference  of 
fuch  a  perfon,  an  accommodation,  which  on  their 
parts  they  fincerelydefired,  might  be  brought  about. 
As  I  did  not  meet  any  of  the  Naudoweflies  after- 
wards, I  had  not  an  opportunity  of  forwarding  fo 
good  a  work. 

About  thirty   miles  below  the  Falls  of  St.  An- 
thony, at  which  I  arrived  the  tenth  day  after  I  left 


46  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

:  Pepin,  is  a  remarkable  cave  of  an  amazing 
depth.  The  Indians  term  it  Wakon-teebe,  that  is, 
the  Dwelling  of  the  Great  Spirit.  The  entrance 
into  it  is  about  ten  feet  wide,  the  height  of  it  five 
feet.  The  arch  within  is  near  fifteen  feet  high  and 
about  thirty  feet  broad.  The  bottom  of  it  ccnfif.s 
of  fine  clear  fand.     About  twentv  feet  from   the   en- 

ce  begins  a  lake,  the  water  of  which  is  tranfpa- 
rent,and  extends  to  an  unfearchablediftance  \  for  the 
darknefs  of  the  cave  prevents  all  attempts  to  ac- 
quire a  knowledge  of  it.  I  threw  a  fmail  pebble  to- 
wards the  interior  parts  of  is,  with  my  utmoft 
ftrength  :  I  could  hear  that  it  fell  into  the  water,  and 
notv  ding  it  was  of  fo  fmall  a  fize,  it  caufed 

an  aftoniining  and  horrible  noife,  that  reverberated 
through  kll  thofe  gloomy  regions.  I  found  in  this 
cave  many  Indian  hieroglyphics,  which  appeared 
very  ancient,  for  time  had  nearly  covered  them  with 
rr  s,fe  that  it  was  with  difficulty!  could  trace  them. 
They  were  cut  in  a  rude  manner,  upon  the  infide  of 
the  walls,  which  were  compofed  of  a  (tone  fo  ex- 
tremely foft  that  it  might  eafily  be  penetrated  with 
a  knife  ;  a  ftone  every  where  to  be  found  near  the 
MifTifiippi.  The  ca>e  is  only  acceflible  by  z(cznd- 
ing  a  narrow,  fteep  pafTage,  that  lies  near  the  brink 
of  the  river. 

At  a  little  diftance  from  this  dreary  cavern,  is  the 
burying-place  of  feveral  bands  of  the  Naudoweflie 
Indians  :  though  thefe  people  have  no  fixed  refi- 
dence,  living  in  tents,  and  abiding  but  a  few  months 
on  one  fpot,  yet  they  always  bring  the  bones  of  their 
dead  to  this  place  -,  which  they  take  the  opportunity 
of  doing  when  the  chiefs  meet  to  hold  their  coun- 
cils, and  to  fettle  all  public  affairs  for  the  enfuing 
fummer. 

Ten  miles  below  the  Falls   of  St.  Anthony,   the 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  4i 

River  St.  Pierre,  called  by  the  natives  the  Wadda- 
pawmenefotor,  falls  into  the  MiiTiflippi  from  the  weft, 
It  is  not  mentioned  by  FatherHennipin,  although  a 
large,  fair  river  ;  this  omiffion  I  conclude,  mufthave 
proceeded  from  a  fmall  ifland  that  is  fituated  exactly 
at  its  entrance,  by  which  the  fight  of  it  intercepted. 
Ifhouldnot  have  difcovered  this  river  myfelf,  had 
I  not  taken  a  view,  when  I  was  fearehing  for  it,  from 
the  high  lands  oppofite,  which  rife  to  a  great! 
height, 

Nearly  over  againft  this  river  I  was  obliged  to 
leave  my  canoe,  on  account  of  the  ice,  and  travel  by 
land  to  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  where  I  arrived  on 
the  17th  of  November.  The  Mifliffippi  from  the  St. 
Pierre  to  this  place,  is  rather  more  rapid  than  I  had 
hitherto  found  it,  and  without  iflandsof  any  confide  - 
ration. 

Before  I  left  my  canoe  I  overtook  a  young  prince 
of  the  Winnebago  Indians,  who  was  going  on  an 
cmbafTy  to  fome  of  the  bands  of  the  Naudoweffies. 
Finding  that  I  intended  to  take  a  view  of  the  Falls, 
he  agreed  to  accompany  m.e^J^is  curiofity  having; 
been  often  excited  by  the  accounts  he  had  received 
from  fome  of  his  chiefs  :  he  accordingly  left  his  fa- 
mily (for  the  Indians  never  travel  without  their  houf- 
holds)  at  this  place,  under  the  care  of  my  Mohawk 
fervant,  and  we  proceeded  together  by  land  attend- 
ed only  by  my  Frenchman,  to  this  celebrated  place. 

We  could  diftinc?tly  hear  the  noife  of  the  water 
full  fifteen  miles  before  we  reached  the  falls  ;  and 
I  was  greatly  pleafed  and  furprifed,  when  I  ap- 
proached this  aftonifhing  v/ork  ofnature  ;  but  I  was 
not  long  at  liberty  to  indulge  thefe  emotions,  my  at- 
tention being  called  off  by  the  behaviour  of  my  com- 
panion. 

F 


CARVER's     TRAVELS 

The  Prince  had  no  iboner  gained  the  point  that 
overlooks  this  wonderful  cafcade,  than  he  began 
:  aft  audible  voice  to  addrefs  the  Great  Spirit, 
one  of  whole  places  of  reiidence  he  imagined  this  to 
be.  He  told  him  that  he  had  come  a  1  mg  way  to 
pay  his  adorations  to  him,  and  now  would  make  him 
the  bell  offering  in  his  pov/er.  He  accordingly  firft 
threw  his  pipe  into  the  ft  ream  ;  then  the  roll  that 
contained  his  tobacco  ;  after  thefe,  the  bracelets  he 
wore  on  his  arms  and  wrills  ;  next  an  ornament  thai 
encircled  his  neck,  compofed  of  beads  and  wires  -, 
and  at  lafl  the  ear-rings  from  his  ears  -,  in  fhort,  he 
prefcnted  to  his  god,  every  part  of  his  drcfs  that  was 
valuable  :  during  this  he  frequently  fmote  his  bread 
with  great  violence,  threw  his  arms  about,  and  ap- 
peared to  be  much  agitated. 

All  this  while  he  continued  his  adorations,  and  at 
length  concluded  them  with  fervent  petitions  that  the 
Great  Spirit  would  constantly  afford  us  his  protec- 
tion on  our  travels,  giving  us  a  bright  fun,  a  blue 
fky,  and  clear,  untroubled  waters  :  nor  would  he 
leave  the  place  till  we  had  fmoked  together  with  my 
pipe,  in  honor  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

I  was  greatly  furprifed  at  beholding  an  inftance  of 
fuch  elevated  devotion  in  lb  ycung  an  Indian,  and 
inftead  of  ridiculing  the  ceremonies  attending  it,  a.^ 
I  obferved  my  catholic  fervant  tacitydid,  I  looked 
on  the  prince  with  a  greater  degree  ofrefpect  for 
thefe  finccre  proofs  he  gave  of  his  piety  ;  and  I  doubt 
not  but  that  his  offerings  and  prayers  were  as  accept- 
able to  the  univerfal  Parent  of  mankind,  as  if  they 
had  been  made  v^ith  greater  pomp,  or  in  a  confe- 
crateci  place. 


e  w  hole  conduct  of  this  young   prince 
at  once  amazed  and  charmed  me.     During  the  few 


C  A  R  V  E  R  '  s     T  R  A  V  E  L  S.  43 

days,  we  were  together,  his  attention  feemed  totally 
to  be  employed  in  yielding  me  every  affiiiance  in 
his  .power  j  and  even  in  fo  fhort  a  time,  he  gave  me 
innumerable  proofs  of  the  moil  generous  and  difin- 
terefted  friendfhip  ;  fo  that  on  our  return  I  parted 
from  him  with  great  reluctance.  Whilft  I  beheld 
the  artiefs,  yet  engaging  manners  of  this  unpolifhed 
favage,  I  could  not  help  drawing  a  companion  be- 
tween him  and  fome  of  the  more  refined  inhabitants 
of  civilized  countries,  not  much,  I  own,  in  favcr  of 


The  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  received  their  name 
from  Father  Louis  Hennipin,  a  French  mifnonary, 
who  travelled  into  thefe  parts  about  the  year  168c, 
and  was  the  firft  European  ever  fe^n  by  the  natives. 
This  amazing  body  of  waters,  which  are  above  250 
yards  ever,  form  a  moitpleafing  cataract ;  they  fall 
perpendicularly  about  thirty  feet,  and  the  rapids 
below,  in  the  fpace  of  300  yards  more,  render  the 
defcent  considerably  greater ;  fo  that  when  viewed 
at  a  diftance,  they  appear  to  be  much  higher  than 
they  really  are.  The  above-mentioned  traveller  has 
laid"  them  down  at  above  fixty  feet;  but  he  had 
made  a  greater  error  in  calculating  the  height  cf  the 
Falls  of  Niagara;  'which  he  afferts  to  be  600  feet; 
whereas  from  later  obfervations  accurately  made,  it 
is  well  known  that  it  does  not  exceed  140  lz~z.  But 
the  good  father  I  rear  too  often  had  no  other  tGurid- 
dation  for  his  accounts,  than  report,  cr,  at  bert,  a 
(light  inipedcion. 

In  the  middle  of  rke  Falls  ftaeds  a  fmaii  iuand, 
about  forty  ieec  broad  and  fo  me  what  longer,  on 
which  grow  a  few  gagged  hemlock  and  fpruce  trees; 
and  about  halfway  between  :h:s  iGand  and  the  ealt- 
ern  more  is  a  rock,  Lyifig  at  the  ^cr/  edge  of  the 
i'Vilk  in   an   obiicjue   pofifion  tha:   appeared  to   fee. 


4+ 


CARVER's     T  R  A  V'E  L  S. 


about  five  or  fix  feet  broad,  and  thirty  or  forty  long. 
Theft  Falls  vary  much  from  all  the  others  I  have 
fcen,  as  you  may  approach  clofe  to  them  without 
finding  the  leaft  obftruction  from  any  intervening  hill 
or  precipice. 

The  country  around  them  is  extremely  beautiful. 
It  is  not  an  uninterrupted  plain,  where  the  eye  rinds, 
no  relief,  but  compofed  of  many  gentle  afcents, 
which  in  the  fummer  are  covered  with  the  fineft 
verdure,  and  interfoerfed  with  little  groves,  that 
giveapleafing  variety  to  the  profpedt.  On  the  whole, 
when  the  Falls  are  included,  which  may  be  feen  at 
the  difcance  of  four  miles,  a  more  pleafing  and  pic- 
turefque  view  cannot,  I  believe,  be  found  through- 
out the  univerfe.  I  could  have  wifhed  that  I  had 
happened  to  enjoy  this  glorious  fight  at  a  more  fea- 
fonable  time  cf  the  year,  whiUr.  the  trees  and  hillocks 
were  clad  in  nature's  gave  ft  livery,  as  this  muft 
have  greatly  added  to.  the  pleafuie  I  received  ;  how- 
ever, even  then  it  exceeded  my  warmeft  expectations. 
I  have  endeavoured  to  give  the  reader  as  juft  an  idea 
of  this  enchanting  fpot,  as  pofliblc  ;  but  all  descrip- 
tion, whether  of  the  pencil  or  the  pen,  muft  fall  in- 
tinitely  fhort  of  the  original. 

At  a  little  diftanee  below  the  Falls  ftands  a  fmall 
ifland,  of  about  an  acre  and  an  half,  on  which  grow  a 
great  number  of  oak  trees,  every  branch  of  which* 
able  to  fupport  the  weight,  was  full  of  eagles'  nefb. 
The  reaibn  that  this  kind  of  birds  re  fort  in  fuch 
numbers  to  this  fpot,  is,  that  they  are  here  fecure 
from  the  attacks  cither  of  man  or  bead,  their  retreat 
being  guarded  by  the  rapids,  which  the  Indians 
never  attempt  to  pafs.  Another  reafon  is,  that  they 
find  a  conftant  fupply  of  food  for  themfelves  and 
their  yooog,  from  the  animals   and  fifh   which   are 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  45 

dafhed  to  pieces  by  the  Falls,  and  driven  on  the  ad- 
jacent fhore. 

Having  fatisfied  my  curioiity,  as  far  as  the  eye  of 
man  can  be  fattened,  I  proceeded  on,  dill  accom- 
panied by  my  young  friend,  till  I  had  reached  the 
River  St.  Francis,  near  fixty  miles  above  rhe  Falls. 
To  this  river  Father  Hcnnipm  gave  the  name  of  St. 
Francis,  and  this  was  the  extent  of  his  travels,  as 
well  as  mine,  towards  the  north-well.  As  the  feafon 
wasfo  advanced,  and  the  weather  extremely  cold,  I 
was  not  able  to  make  fo  many  obfervations  on  thefe 
parts  as  I  otherwife  mould  have  done. 

It  might  however,  perhaps,  be  necefTary  to  ob- 
ferve,  that  in  the  little  tour  I  made  about  the  Falls, 
after  travelling  fourteen  miles,  by  the  fide  of  the  Mif- 
fuTippi,  I  came  to  a  river  nearly  twenty  yards 
wide,  which  ran  from  the  north  eaft,  called  Rum 
River.  And  on  the  20th  of  November  came  to 
another  termed  Goofe  River,  about  twelve  yards 
wide.  On  the  21ft  I  arrived  at  the  St.  Francis, 
which  is  about  thirty  yards  wide.  Here  the  MiffifTippi 
itfelf  grows  narrow,  being  nor  more  than  ninety 
yards  over  ;  and  appears  to  be  chiefly  compofed  of 
final!  branches.  The  ice  prevented  me  from  noticing 
the  depth  of  any  of  thefe  three  rivers. 

The  country  in  fome  places  is  hilly,  but  without 
large  mountains  ;  and  the  land  is  tolerably  good.  I 
obferved  here  many  deer  and  carriboos,  fome  elk, 
with  abundance  of  beavers,  otters,  and  "other  furs.  A 
little  above  this,  to  the  north  eaft,  are  a  number  of 
1  mall  lakes  called  the  Thoufand  Lakes;  the  parts 
about  which,  though  but  little  frequented,  are  the 
bed  within  many  miles,  for  hunting,  as  the  hunter 
neve*  fails  of  returning- loaded  bevond  his  expe&&> 
!  (  1 


46  CARVER's     TRAVELS. 

The  Mif&fEppi  has  never  been  explored  higher 
up  than  the  River  St.  Francis,  and  only  by  Father 
Henhipin  and  myfclf  thus  far.  So  that  we  are 
obliged  folely  to  the  Indians,  for  all  the  intelligence 
we  are  able  to  give  relative  to  the  more  northern 
parts.  As  this  River  is  not  navigable  from  the  fea 
Far  vefifelsof  any  confiderablc  burthen,  much  higher 
up  than  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio,  and  even  that  is  ac- 
complished with  great  difficulty,  owing  to  the  ra- 
pidity of  the  current,  and  the  winding  of  the  river; 
thofe  fettlements  that  may  be  made  on  the  interior 
banches  of  it,  muft  be  indifputably  fecure  from  the 
attacks  of  any  maritime  power.  But  at  the  fame 
time  the  fettlers  will  have  the  advantage  of  being 
able  to  convey  their  produce  to  the  fea-ports,  with 
great  facility,  the  current  of  the  river  from  its  fource 
to  its  entrance  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  being  ex- 
tremely favorable  fordoing  this  in  fmall craft.  This 
might  alfo  in  time  be  facilitated  by  canals  or  fhorter 
cuts  ;  and  a  communication  opened  by  water  with 
New- York,  Canada,  &c.  by  way  of  the  lakes.  The 
Foiks  of  the  Ohio  are  about  nine  hundred  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  MiiT;mppi,  following  the 
courfe  of  the  river  ;  and  the  MeiForie  two  hundred 
miles  above  thefe.  From  the  hitter  it  is  about  twenty 
miles  to  the  Illinois  River,  and  from  that  to  the  Ou- 
iiconfin,  which. I  have  given  an  account  of,  about 
eight  hundred  more. 

On  the  2  ah  I  returned  to  my  canoe,  which  I  had 
left  at  the  mouth  of  i:  er  St.  Pierre  ;  and  here 

Ipartec:  my   young  friend, 

prio.ee  of  the  W;  'j~.  This  river  being  clear  of 

ice,  by  teafon  c:  its  fouthern    fituation,  I  found    no- 
thing to  obfhrutt  my  oaiiage.     On  the  28th,    being- 
advanced  about  forty    miles,  I  arrived  at    a  fmall 
branch  that  fell  into  it  from  the  north  ■,  to  which 
it  had  no  lid  diit:-  it  by,  I  r 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  47 

my  own.-  About- forty  miles  higher  up  I  came  to 
the  Forks  of  Verd  and  Red  Marble  Rivers,  which 
join'  at  fome  little  diftance  before  they  enter  the 
Stf-  Pierre. 

The  River  St.  Pierre,  at  its  junction  with  the 
Miffiffippi,  is  about  a  hundred  yards  broad,  and 
continues  that  breadth  nearly  ail  the  way  I  failed 
upon  it.  It  has  a  great  depth  of  water,  and  in  fome 
places  runs  very  bnfkly.  About  fifty  miles  from  its 
mouth  are  fome  rapids,  and  much  higher  up  there 
are  many  others. 

I  proceeded  upon  this  river  about  two  hundred 
miles  to  the  country  of  the  Naudoweffies  of  the 
Plains,  which  lies  a  little  above  the  Forks  formed  by 
the  Verd  and  Red  Marble  Rivers,  juft  mentioned, 
where  a  branch  from  the  fouth  nearly  joins  the  Mef- 
iori  River.  By  the  accounts  I  received  from  the 
Indians,  I  have  reafon  to  believe  that  the  River  St. 
Pierre  and  the  MefTori,  though  they  enter  the  Mif- 
fiffippi twelve  hundred  miles  from  each  other,  take 
their  rife  in  the  fame  neighborhood  -,  and  this  within 
the  fpace  ofa  mile. 

The  River  St.  Pierre's  notthern  branch  rifes  from 
:i  number  of  lakes  near  the  mining  mountains  ;  and 
it  is  from  fome  of  thefe,  alfo,  that  a  capital  branch  of 
the  River  Bourbon,  which  runs  intoHudfon's  Bay, 
has    its  fouices. 

From  the  intelligence  I  gained  from  the  Nati- 
dowefne  Indians,  among  whom  I  arrived  on  the  7th 
of  December,  and  whole  language  I  perfectly  ac- 
quired during  a  refidence  of  five  months  -,  and  alfo 
from  the  accounts  I  afterwards  obtained  from  the 
Affinipoils,  who  fpeak  the  fame  tongue,  being  a  re- 
volted band  of  the  N&uddwefficsj  and  from  th^  Kil- 


48  CARVER'S     TRAVELS, 

liftinoes,  neighbours  of  the  Aflinipoils,  who  (peak 
the  Chipeway  language,  and  inhabit  the  heads  of  the 
River  Bourbon  ;  I  fay  from  thefe  nations,  together 
with  my  own  obfervations,  I  have  learned  that  the 
four  mod  capital  rivers  on  the  Continent  of  North- 
America,  viz.  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Mifliflippi,  the 
river  Bourbon,  and  the  Oregon  or  the  river  of  the 
Weft  (as  I  hinted  in  my  Introduction)  have  their 
fources  in  the  fame  neighbourhood.  The  waters  of 
the  three  former  are  within  thirty  miles  of  each 
other  -,  the  latter,  however  is  rather  further  weft. 

This  fhews  that  thefe  parts  are  the  higheft  lands 
in  North- America;  and  it  is  an  inftance  not  to  be 
paralled  on  the  other  three  quarters  of  the  globe, 
that  four  rivers  of  fuch  magnitude  mould  take  their 
rife  together,  and  each,  after  running  feparate  cour- 
fes,  difcharged  their  waters  into  different  oceans  at 
the  diftance  of  two  thoufand  miles  from  their  fources. 
For  in  their  paffage  from  this  fpot  to  the  bay  of  St. 
Lawrence,  eaft;  to  the  Bay  of  Mexico,  fouth;  to 
Hudfon's  Bay,  north ;  and  to  the  bay  at  the  Straits 
ofAnnian,  weft,  each  of  thefe  traverfe  upwards  of 
two  thoufand  miles. 

I  mail  here  give  my  readers  fuch  reflections  as 
occurred  to  me,  when  I  had  received  this  intere(l> 
ing  information,  and  had  by  numberlefs  enquiries, 
afcertained  the  truth  of  it;  that  is,  as  far  as  it  was 
poflible  to  arrive  at  a  certainty  without  a  perfonal 
inveftigation. 

It  is  we'll  known  that  the  Colonies,  particularly 
thofe  of  New-England  and  Canada,  are  greatly 
affected,  about  the  time  their  winter  fets  in,  by  a 
north-weft  wind,  which  continues  for  feveral months, 
and  renders  the  cold  much  more  intenfe  there  than 
1-  i:  in  the  interior  parts  of  America.     This  I  caoj 


CARVER'S     T  R  A  V  ELS:  49 

from  my  own  knowledge,  afTert,  as  I  found  the 
winter,  that  I  patted  to  uhe  weftward  of  the  Mif- 
fiffippi,  far  from  fevere  ,  and  the  north-weft  wind 
blowing  on  thole  countries  confiderably  more  tem- 
perate than  I  have  often  experienced  it  to  be  nearer 
the  coaft.  And  that  this  did  not  arife  from  an  un- 
certainty of  the  feafons,  but  was  annually  the  cafe, 
I  conclude,  both  from  the  fmall  quantity  of  fnow 
that  then  fell,  and  a  total  difufe  of  fnow  fhces 
by  chefe  Indians,  without  which  none  of  the  more 
eaftern  nations  can  pohToly  travel  during  the  win- 
ter. 

As  naturalifts  obferve,  that  air  refembles  water 
in  many  refpects,  particularly  by  often  Mowing  in  a 
compact  body;  and  that  this  is  generally  remarked 
to  be  with  the  current  of  large  ftreams,  and  feldom 
acrofs  them,  may  not  the  winds  that  fet  violently 
inco  the  Bay  of  Mexico  about  the  latter  end  of  the 
year,  take  their  courfe  over  the  continent  in  the  fame 
direction  as  the  Mifiiilippi  does  -3  till  meeting  the  north 
winds  (tjiatfrom  a  fimilar  caufe  blow  up  the  Bourbon 
from  Hudfon's  Bay)  they  are  forced  acrofs  the  great 
lakes,  down  the  current  of  the  waters  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  united,  commit  thofe  ravages,  and 
occafion  thofe  fevere  winters,  experienced  in  the 
before-  mentioned  countries  ?  During  their  progrefs 
over  the  lakes  they  become  expanded,  and  confe- 
quently  affect  a  greater  tract  of  land  than  they  other- 
wife  would  do. 

According  to  my  fcanty  knowledge  of  natural 
philofophy,  this  does  not  appear  improbable.  Whe- 
ther it  is  agreeable  to  the  laws  eftablifhed  by  natu- 
ralifts to  account  for  the  operations  of  that  element, 
I  know  not.  However,  the  defcription  here  given 
of  the  fituation  of  thefe  vaft  bodies  of  water,  and 
their  near  approach  to  each  other,  with  my  own 

G 


5o  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

undigefced  fuppofitions  of  their  effect  on  the  winds, 
may  prove  perhaps,  in  abler  handy,  the  means  of 
leading  to  many  uleful  difcoveries. 

On  the  7th  of  December,  1  arrived  (as  I  faid  be- 
fore) at  the  utmoft  extent  of  my  travels  towards  the 
wcitj  where  I  met  with  a  large  party  of  the  Nau- 
•Jowtilie  Indians,  among  whom  Irefided  fe  ven  months. 
Thefc  conftituted  a  part  of  the  eight  bands  of  the 
Naudowe fiies  of  the  Plains  -,  and  are  termed  the  Waw- 
peerrtowahs,  the  Tintons,  the  Afrahcootans,  the 
IMawhaws,  and  the  Schians.  The  other  three  bands, 
whofe  names  are,  the  Schianefe,  the  Chongoufce- 
ton,  and  the  Waddapawjeftin,  dwell  higher  up, 
to  the  weft  of  the  river  St.  Pierre,  on  plains  that, 
according  to  their  account,  are  unbounded ;  and  pro- 
bably terminate  on  the  coaft  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  NaudowelTie  nation,  when  united,  confifts  of 
more  than  two  thoufand  warriors.  The  Aflinipoils, 
who  revolted  from  them,  amount  to  about  three 
hundred;  and  leagued  with  the  Kiiliftinoes,  live  in  a 
continual  {rate  of  enmity  with  the  other  eleven  bands. 

As  I  proceeded  up  the  river  St.  Pierre,  and  had 
nearly  reached  the  place  v.- here  thefe  people  were 
encamped,  I  obferved  two  or  three  canoes  coming 
down  the  ftream ,  but  no  fooner  had  the  Indians 
that  were  on  board  them,  difcovered  us,  than  they 
rowed  towards  the  land,  and  leaping  afhore  with 
precipitation,  left  their  canoes  to  float  as  the  current 
drove  them.  In  a  few  minutes  I  perceived  fome 
others  •>  who,  as  foon  as  they  came  in  fight,  fol- 
lowed, with  equal  fpeed,  the  example  of  their  coun- 
trymen. 

I  now  thought  it  neceffary  to  proceed  with  cau- 
tion ;  and  therefore  kept  on  trie  fide  of  the  river 
oppofite  to  that  on  which  the  Indians  had  landed. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  p 

However,  I  ftill  continued  my  eourfe,  fatisfied  that 
the  pipe  of  peace,  which  was  fixed  at  the  head  of 
my  canoe,  and  the  Englifh  colours  that  were  flying 
at  the  item,  would  prove  my  Security.  After  rowing 
about  half  a  mile  further,  in  turning  a  point,  I  dis- 
covered a  trreat  number  of  tents,  and  more  than  a 
thoufand  Indians,  at  a  little  diftance  from  the  fhore. 
Being  now  nearly  oppofite  to  them,  I  ordered  my 
men  to  pull  directly  over,  as  I  was  willing  to  con- 
vince the  Indians  byfuch  a  (Up,  that  I  placed  fome 
confidence  in  them. 

As  foon  as  I  had  reached  the  land,  two  of  the 
chiefs  prefented  their  hands  to  me,  and  led  me, 
amidft  the  aitonifhing  multitude,  who  had  mod  of 
them  never  feen  a  white  man  before,  to  a  ttnt. 
Into  this  we  entered,  and  according  to  the  cuftom 
that  univerfally  prevails  among  every  Indian  nation, 
began  to  fmoke  the  pipe  of  peace.  We  had  net 
fat  long  before  the  crowd  became  fo  great,  both 
around,  and  upon  the  tent,  that  we  were  in  danger 
of  being  crufhed  by  its  fall.  On  this  we  returned 
to  the  plain,  where,  having  gratified  the  curio- 
fity  of  the  common  people,  their  wonder  abated 
and  ever  after  they  treated  me  with  great  refpect. 

From  the  chiefs  I  met  with  the  moft  friendly  and 
hofpitable  reception  -,  which  induced  me,  as  the 
feafon  was  fo  far  advanced,  to  take  up  my  refidence 
among  them  during  the  winter.  To  render  my 
flay  as  comfortable  as  pofiible,  I  firft  endeavoured 
to  learn  their  language.  This  I  foon  did,  fo  as  to 
make  myfelf  perfectly  intelligible,  having  before 
acquired  fome  (light  knowledge  of  the  language  of 
thofe  Indians  that  live  on  the  back  of  the  Settlements; 
and  in  confequence  met  with  every  accommodation 
their  manner  of  living  would  afford.  Nor  did  J 
want  for  fuch  amufements  as  tended  to  make  fp 


52  CARVER's     TRAVELS. 

long  a  period  pafs   cheerfully  away.  I  frequently 

hunted  with  them;  and  at  other  time  beheld   witn 

plcaiure  their  recreations  and  paftimes,  which  I  fhall 
defcribe  hereafter. 

Sometimes  I  fat  with  the  chiefs,  and  whilft  we 
fmoked  the  friendly  pipe,  entertained  them,  in 
return  for  the  accounts  they  gave  me  of  their  wars 
and  excurfions,  with  a  narrative  of  my  own  adven- 
tures, and  a  description  of  all  the  battles  fought  be- 
tween the  Englifh  and  French  in  America,  in  many 
of  which  I  had  a  perfonal  fhare.  They  always  paid 
great  attention  to  my  details,  and  affced  many  per- 
tinent queftions  relative  to  the  European  methods 
of  making  war. 

I  held  thefe  conventions  with  them  in  a  great 
meafure  to  procure  from  them  fome  information 
relative  to  the  chief  point  I  had  conftantly  in  view, 
that  of  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  fituation  and 
produce,  both  of  their  own  country,  and  thofe  that 
lay  to  the  weftward  of  them.  Nor  was  I  difappointed 
in  my  defigns;  for  I  procured  from  them  much  ufe- 
ful  intelligence.  They  likewife  drew  for  me  plans 
of  all  the  countries  with  which  they  were  acquainted; 
but  as  I  entertained  no  great  opinion  of  their  geo- 
graphical knowledge,  I  placed  not  much  depen- 
dence on  them,  and  therefore  think  it  unneceflary 
to  give  them  to  the  public.  They  draw  with  a 
piece  of  burnt  coal,  taken  from  the  hearth,  upon 
the  infidc  bark  of  the  birch  tree;  which  is  as  fmooth 
as  paper,  and  anfwers  the  fame  purpofes,  not- 
-vithftanciing  it  is  of  a  yellow  call.  Their  fketches 
are  made  in  a  rude  manner,,  but  they  feem  to  gi*e 
us  as  juft  an  idea  of  a  country,  although  the  plan 
is  not  fo  exact,  as  more  experienced  draughtfmen 
•~ou!d  do. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  s\ 

I  left  tiie  habitations  of  thefe  hofpitable  Indians 
the  latter  end  of  April  1767  •>  but  did  not  part  from 
them  for  feveral  days,  as  I  was  accompanied  on  my 
journey  by  near  three  hundred  of  them,  among  whom 
were  many  chiefs,  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Pierre. 
At  this  feafon,  thefe  bands  annually  go  to  the  Great 
Cave,  before  mentioned,  to  hold  a  grand  council 
with  all  the  other  bands ;  wherein  they  fettle  their 
operations  for  the  enfuing  year.  At  the  fame  time 
they  carry  with  them  their  dead,  for  interment, 
bound  up  in  buffaloes'  fkins.  Befides  thole  that 
accompanied  me,  others  were  gone  before,  and  the 
reft  were  to  follow. 

Never  did  I  travel  with  {q  cheerful  and  happy  a 
company.  But  their  mirth  met  with  a  Hidden  and 
Temporary  allay  from  a  violent  ftorm  that  overtook 
us  one  day  on  our  paffage.  We  had  juft  landed, 
and  were  preparing  to  fet  up  our  tents  for  the  night, 
when  a  heavy  cloud  overfpread  the  heavens,  and 
the  moft  dreadful  thunder,  lightning,  and  rain  ifiued 
from  it,  .that  ever  I  beheld. 

The  Indians  were  greatly  terrified,  and  ran  to 
fuch  fhelter  as  they  could  find;  for  only  a  few  tents 
were  as  yet  erected.  Apprehenfive  of  the  danger 
that  might  enfue  from  (landing  near  any  thing; 
which  could  ferve  for  a  conductor,  as  the  cloud 
appeared  to  contain  fuch  an  uncommon  quantity 
of  electrical  fluid,  I  took  my  ftand  as  far  as  poffibie 
from  any  covering;  chufing  rather  to  be  expofed 
to  the  peltings  of  the  ftorm,  than  to  receive  a  fatal 
ftroke.  At  this  the  Indians  were  greatly  furprifed, 
and  drew  conclufions  from  it  not  unfavorable  to  the 
opinion  they  already  entertained  of  my  refolution. 
Yet  I  acknowledge  that  I  was  never  more  affected 
in  my  life  -,  for  nothing  fcarcely  could  exceed  the 
terrific  fcene.     The  peals  of  thunder  were  fo  loud 


54  CARVER'S       TRAVELS. 

than  they  fhook  the  earth  ;  and  the  lightning  flamed 
along  the  ground  in  ftreams  of  fulphur;  fo  that  the 
Indian  chiefs  themfelves,  although  their  courage 
in  war  is  ufually  invincible,  could  not  help  tremb- 
ling at  the  horrid  combuftion.  As  foon  as  the 
florm  was  over,  they  flocked  around  me,  and  in- 
formed me,  that  it  was  a  proof  of  the  anger  of  the 
evil  fpirits,  whom  they  were  apprehenfivc  that  they 
had  highly  offended. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  Great  Cave,  and  the  In- 
dians had  depofited  the  remains  of  their  deceafed 
friends  in  the  burial  place  that  ltands  adjacent  to  it, 
they  held  their  great  council,  into  which  I  was  ad- 
mitted, and  at  the  fame  time  had  the  honor  to  be 
inftalled  or  adopted  a  chief  of  their  bands.  On  this 
occafion  I  made  tht  following  fpeech,  which  I  infert, 
to  give  my  reader:;  a  fpecimen  of  the  language  and 
manner  in  which  it  is  neceflary  to  addrefs  the  Indi- 
ans, fo  as  to  engage  their  attention,  and  to  render 
the  fpeaker's  expreflion  confonant  to  their  ideas.  It 
was  delivered  on  the  firft  day  of  May  1767. 

cc  My  brothers,  chiefs  of  the  numerous  andpow- 
cc  erful  Naudoweflies !  I  rejoice  that  through  my 
**  long  abode  with  you,  I  can  now  fpeak  to  you 
<c  (though  after  an  imperfect  manner)  in  your  own 
{C  tongue,  like  one  of  your  own  children.  I  rejoice 
f<  aifo  that  I  have  had  an  opportunity  fo  frequently 
<(  to  inform  you  of  the  glory  and  power  of  the  Great 
<c  King  that  reigns  over  the  Englifh  and  other  nati- 
cc  ons;  who  is  defcended  from  a  very  ancient  race 
"  of  fovereigns,  as  old  as  the  earth  and  waters; 
'?  whofe  feet  (land  on  two  great  iflands,  larger  than 
iC  any  you  have  ever  feen,  amidft  the  greateft  waters 
<c  in  the  world;  whofe  head  reaches  to  the  fun,  and 
"  whofe  arms  encircle  the  whole  earth;  the  num- 
<f  ber  of  wTiofe  warriors  are  equal  to  the  trees  in  the 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS,  55 

<f  vallies,  the  ftaiks  of  rice  in  yonder  marfhes,  or 
"  the  blades  of  grafs  on  your  great  plains:  who  has 
cc  hundreds  of  canoes  of  his  own,  of  fuch  amazing 
cc  bignefs,  that  all  the  waters  in  your  country  would 
<l  not  fuffice  for  one  of  them  to  fwim  in;  each  of 
iC  which  have  guns,  not  fmall  like  mine,  which  you 
cf  fee  before  you,  but  of  fuch  magnitude,  that  an 
cc  hundred  of  your  flouteft  young  men  would  with 
<c  difficulty  be  able  to  carry  one.  And  thefe  are 
"equally  furprifing  in  their  operation  againfi:  the 
"  great  king's  enemies  when  engaged  in  battle  ;  the 
c<  terror  they  carry  with  them,  your  language  wants 
fC  words  to  exprefs.  You  may  remember  the  other 
cc  day  when  we  were  encamping  at  Wadawpaw- 
cc  menefotor,  the  black  clouds,  the  wind,  the  fire, 
cc  the  ftupendous  noife,  the  horrible  cracks,  and  the 
<c  trembling  of  the  earth,  which  then  alarmed  you, 
fc  and  gave  you  reafon  to  think  your  gods  were 
<c  angry  with  you;  not  unlike  thefe  are  the  warlike 
fc  implements  of  the  Englifh,  when  they  are  fight- 
Cf  ing  the  battles  of  their  great  king. 

cc  Several  of  the  chiefs  of  your  bands  have  often 
cc  told  me,  in  times  pall,  when  I  dwelt  with  you 
tf  in  your  tents,  that  they  much  wifhed  to  be  counted 
"  among  the  children  and  allies  of  the  great  king 
"  my  mafter.  You  may  remember  how  often  you 
"  have  defired  me,  when  I  returned  again  to  my 
<c  own  country,  to  acquaint  the  great  king  of  your 
cc  good  difpofition  towards  him  and  his  fubjects,  and 
"  that  you  wifhed  for  traders  from  the  Englifh  to 
ct  come  among  you. 

"  Being  now  about  to  take  my  leave  of  you,  and 
ff  to  return  to  my  own  country,  along  way  towards 
cc  the  rifing  fun,  I  again  afk  you  to  tell  me  whether 
cc  you  continue  of  the  fame  mind  as  when  I  fpoke  to 
{<  you  in  council  laft  winter ;  and  as  there  are  now' 


56  CARVER's    TRAVELS. 

"  feveral  of  your  chiefs  here,  who  came  from  the 
<c  great  plains  towards  the  letting  of  the  fun,  whom  I 
"  have  never  fpoke  with  in  council  before,  I  afk  you 
<c  to  let  me  know  if  you  are  all  willing  to  acknow- 
<f  ledge  yourfclves  the  children  of  my  great  matter 
fc  the  King  of  the  Englim  and  other  nations,  as  I 
<c  mail  take  the  firft  opportunity  to  acquaint  him  of 
i%  your  defires  and  good  intentions. 

cc  I  charge  you  not  to  give  heed  to  bad  reports  ; 
"  for  there  are  wicked  birds  flying  about  among  the 
"  neighbouring  nations,  who  may  whifper  evil 
<c  things  in  your  ears  againft  the  Englifh,  contrary 
<c  to  what  I  have  told  you  ;  you  mull  not  believe 
Ci  them,  for  I  have  told  you  the  Truth. 

<c  And  as  for  the  chiefs  that  are  about  to  go  to 
<c  Michillimackinac,  I  mail  take  care  to  make  for 
"  them  and  their  fuit,  a  ftraight  road,  fmooth  waters, 
cc  and  a  clear  lky^  that  they  may  go  there,  and 
<c  fmoke  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  reft  fecure  on  a 
"  beaver  blanket  under  the  made  of  the  ^reat  tree 
"  of  peace.     Farewell  !  " 

To  this  fpeech  I  received  the  following  anfwer, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  principal  chief: 

cc  Good  brother  !  I  am  now  about  to'fpeak  to  you 
"  with  the  mouths  of  thefe  my  brothers,  chiefs  of  the 
"eight  bands  of  the  powerful  nation  of  the  Nau- 
(<  doweflies.  We  believe  and  are  well  fatisfied  in 
cc  the  truth  of  every  thing  you  have  told  us  about 
tc  your  great  nation,  and  the  great  king  our  greaterl 
cc  father ;  for  whom  we  fpread  this  beaver  blanket, 
<c  that  his  fatherly  protection  may  ever  reft  eafy  and 
<c  fafe  amongft  us  his  children:  your  colours  and  your 
cc  arms  agree  with  the  accounts  you  have  given  us 
lf  about  your  great  nation.    We  defire  that  when  you 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  57 

cc  return,  you  will  acquaint  the  great  king  how 
Cf  much  the  Naudowefiies  wifh  to  be  counted  among 
fC  his  good  children. 


"  You  may  believe  us  when  we  tell  you  that  wc 
cc  will  not  open  our  ears  to  any  who  may  dare  to 
<c  fpeak  evil  of  our  great  father  the  king  of  the  Eng- 
"  lifh  and  other  nations. 


fC 


cc 


We  thank  you  for  what  you  done  for  us  in  mak- 
ing peace  between  the  Naudoweffies  and  the  Chipe- 
ways,  and  hope  when  you  return  to  us  again^  that 
you  will  complete  this  good  work  j  and  quite 
diipclling  the  clouds  that  intervene,  open  the  blue 
fky  of  peace,  and  caufe  the  bloody  hatchet  to  be 
deep  buried  uitfter  tiie  roots  of  the  great  tree  of 
peace. 

cc  We  wifh  you  to  remember  to  reprefent  to  our 
great  father,  how  much  we  defire  that  traders  may 
be  fent  to  abide  among  us  with  fuch  things  as  we 
IC  need,  that  the  hearts  of  our  young  men,  our 
cc  wives,  and  children  may  be  made  glad.  And  may 
fc  peace  fubfift  between  us,  fo  long  as  the  fun,  the 
cc  moon,  the  earth,  and  the  waters  {hall  indure. 
«  Farewell !" 

I  thought  it  necelTary  to  caution  the  Indians  againft 
giving  heed  to  any  bad  reports  that  may  reach  them 
from  the  neighbouring  nations,  to  the  difadvantage 
of  the  Englilh,  as  I  had  heard,  at  different  places 
through  which  I  paffed  that  emifTaries  were  ftiil  em- 
ployed by  the  French  to  detach  thofe  who  were 
friendly  to  the  Englilh,  from  their  intereft.  And  I 
law,  myfelf,  feveral  belts  of  Wampum  "that  had  been 
delivered  for  this  purpofe  to  fome  of  the  tribes  I  was 
among.      On  the  delivery  of  each  of  thefe,  a  Talk 

H 


f*  C  A  RVBR's       TRAVELS. 

was  held,  wherein  the  Indians  were  told  that  the  Eng- 
iiih,  who  were  but  a  petty  people,  had  ftolen  that 
country  From  their  great  father  the  king  of  France, 
whilft  he  was  afieep  ;  but  that  he  would  foon  awake, 
and  take  them  again  under  his  protection.  Thefe 
I  found  were  km  from  Canada,  by  perfons  who  ap- 
peared to  be  well  affected  towards  the  government 
under  which  they  lived. 

Whilft  I  tarried  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  St. 
Pierre,  with  thefe  friendly  Indians,  I  endeavoured  to 
gain  intelligence  whether  any  goods  had  been  fent 
towards  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  for  my  ufe,  agree- 
able to  the  promife  I  had  received  from  the  go- 
vernor when  I  left  Michillimackinac.  But  finding 
from  feme  Indians,  who  pafTed  by  in  their  return 
from  thole  parts,  that  this  agreement  had  not  been 
fulfilled,  I  was  obliged  to  give  up  ail  thoughts  of 
proceeding  further  to  the  north- weft  by  this  route, 
according  to  my  original  plan.  I  therefore  returned 
to  La  Prairie  le  Chien,  where  I  procured  as  many 
goods  from  the  traders  I  left  there  the  preceding 
t~ear,  as  they  could  fpare. 

As  thefe,  however,  were  not  furncient  to  enable 
me  to  renew  my  firft  defign  I  determined  to  endea- 
vour to  make  my  way  acrofs  the  country  of  the 
Chipeways  to  Lake  Superior;  in  hopes  of  meet- 
ing at  the  Grand  Portage  on  the  north  fide  of  it, 
the  traders  that  annually  go  from  Michillimackinac 
to  the  north  weft  ;  of  whom  I  doubted  not  but  that 
I  fhculd  be  able  to  procure  goods  enough  to  anlwcr 
my  purpofe,  and  alfo  to  penetrate  through  thofe 
more  northern  parts  to  the  Straits  of  Annian. 

And  I  the  more  readily  returned  to  La  Prairie  le 
Chien,  as  I  could  by  that  means  the  better  fulfil  the 


C  A  R  V  E  R's    T  R  A  V  E  L  S.  S5 

engagement  I  had  made  to  the   party  of  Naudowefr 
fies  mentioned  at  the  concluiion  of  my  fpeech. 

During  my  abode  with  this  people,  wiflnng  to  fe? 
cure  them  entirely  in  thc^  in te re ft  of  iht  Engiiih,  I 
had  advifed  fome  of  the  chiefs  to  go  to  Michilh- 
mackinac,  where  they  would  have  an  opportunity 
of  trading,  and  of  hearing  the  accounts  that  I  had  en- 
tertained them  with  of  my  countrymen,  confirmed. 
At  the  fame  time  I  had  furnilhed  them  with  a  recom- 
mendation to  the  governor,  and  given  them  every 
direction  neceftary  for  their  voyage. 

In  confequence  of  this,  one  of  the  principal  chiefs, 
and  twenty -five  of  an  inferior  rank,  agreed  to  go 
the  enfulng  fummer.  This  they  took  an  opportu- 
nity of  doing  when  they  came  with  the  reft  of  their 
band  to  attend  the  grand  council  at  the  mouth  of  the 
River  St.  Pierre.  Being  obliged,  on  account  of  the 
difappointment  I  had  juft  been  informed  of,  to  re- 
turn {o  far  down  the  Miffifiippi,  I  could  from  thence 
the  more  eafily  fetthem  on  their  journey. 

As  the  intermediate  parts  of  this  river  are  much 
frequented  by  the  Chipeways,  with  whom  the  Nau- 
doweffies  are  continually  at  war,  they  thought  it 
more  prudent,  being  but  a  fmall  party,  to  take  the; 
advantage  of  the  night,  than  to  travel  with  me  by 
day  ;  accordingly  no  fooner  was  the  grand  council 
broke  up,  than  I  took  a  friendly  leave  of  thefe  peo- 
ple, from  whom  I  had  received  innumerable  civili- 
ties, and  purfued  once  mqre  my  voyage, 

I  reached  the  eaftern  fide  of  Lake  Pepin  the  fame 
night,  where  I  went  afhore  and  encamped  as  tribal, 
The  next  morning,  when  I  had  proceeded  fome  miles 
further,  I  perceived  at  a  diftance  before  me,  a  fmoke, 
which  denoted  that  fome  Indians  were  near  ;  and  in 


6o  C  A  R  V'  E  R  » s    TRAVEL  S. 

a  inert  time  difcoVered  ten  or  twelve  tents,  not  far 
from  tht  Bank  of  the  river.  As  I  was  apprehenfive 
that  this  was  a  party  of  the  Rovers  I  had  before  met 
withi  I  knew  not  what  courfe  to  purfue.  My  atten- 
dants perfuaded  me  to  endeavour  to  pais  by  them  on 
the  oppofite  fide  of  the  river  ;  but  as  I  had  hitherto 
found  that  the  beft  way  to  enfure  a  friendly  recep- 
tion from  the  Indians,  is  to  meet  them  boldly,  and 
without  fhewing  any  tokens  of  fear,  I  would  by  no 
means  ccnfent  to  their  propofal.  Inilead  oft 
croffed  directly  over,  and  landed  in  the  midft  of 
them,  for  by  this  time  the  greatefl  part  of  them  were 
(landing  en  the  fhore. 

The  firft  I  accofted  were  Chipeways  inhabiting 
near  the  Qttowaw  Lakes  •,  who  received  me  with 
great  cordiality,  and  fhook  me  by  the  hand  in  token 
of  friendfhip.  At  fome  little  distance  behind  thefe 
ftooci  a  chief  remarkably  tail  and  well  made,  but  of 
fo  ftern  an  afpec~t,  that  tht  moil  undaunted  perfon 
could  not  behold  him  without  feeling  fome  degree 
of  terror.  He  feemed  to  have  palled  the  meridian 
of  life,  and  by  the  mode  in  which  he  was  painted  and 
tatowed,  Idifcovered  that  Jie  was  ofhigh  rank.  How- 
ever, I  approached  him  in  a  courteous  manner,  and 
expected  to  have  me;:  with  the  fame  reception  I  had 
dene  from  the  other  ;  but  to  my  great  iurprife,  he 
withheld  his  hand,  and  looking  fiercely  at  me,  faid, 
in  the  Chipeway  tongue,  "Cav/in  nilnifhin  faganofh," 
that  is,  u  The  Engliihare  no  good."  As  he  had  his 
tomahawk  in  his  hand,  I  expected  that  this  laconic 
fentence  would  have  beer/  folio  wed  by  a  blow;  to 
prevent  which,  I  drew  a  piitcl  from  my  belt,  and, 
holding  it  in  a  carelefs  petition,  palfed  clofe  by  him, 
to  let  him  fee  I  was  net  afraid  of  him, 

I  learned  foon  after  from  die   other  Indians,  that 
i'>  ^;  was.  a  chief,  called  by  the    French.,  the   Grand 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  61 

Saut&Tj  or  the  Great  Chipev/ay  Chief,  for  they  de- 
nominate the  Chipeway,  Sautors.  They  likewife 
told  me  that  he  had  been  always  a  fready  friend  to 
that  people,  and  when  they  delivered  up  Michilli- 
mackinac  to  the  Englifh  on  their  evacuation  of  Ca- 
nada, the  Grand  Sautor  had  fworn  that  he  would  ever 
remain  the  avowed  enemy  of  its  new  pofTefTors,  as 
the  territories  on  which  the  fort  is  built  belonged 
to  him. 

Finding  him  thus  difpofed,  I  took  care  to  be  con- 
flantly  upon  my  guard  whilft  I  ft  aid  -,  but  that  he 
might  not  fuppofc  I  was  driven  away  by  his  frowns, 
I  took  up  my  abode  there  for  the  night.  I  pitched 
my  tent  at  ibme  diftance  from  the  Indians,  and  had 
no  fooner  laid  myfelf  down  to  reft,  than  I  was 
awakened  by  my  French  fervant.  Having  been 
alarmed  by  the  found  of  Indian  mufic,  he  had  run 
to  the  out  fide  of  the  tent,  where  he  beheld  a  party  of 
the  young  favages  dancing  towards  us  in  an  extra- 
ordinary manner,  each  carrying  in  his  hand  a  torch 
fixed  on  the  top  of  a  long  pole.  But  I  fhall  defer 
any  further  account  of  this  uncommon  entertain- 
ment, which  at  once  furprifed  and  alarmed  me,  till 
I  treat  of  the  Indian  dances. 

The  next  morning  I  continued  my  voyage,  and 
before  night  reached  La  Prairie  le  Chien  ;  at  which 
place  the  party  of  Naudoweflies  foon  overtook  me. 
Not  long  after  the  Grand  Sautor  alfo  arrived,  and 
before  the  Naudoweflies  left  that  place  to  continue 
their  journey  to  Michillimackinac,  he  found  means, 
in  conjunction  with  fome  French  traders  from  Loui- 
fiana,  to  draw  from  me  about  ten  of  the  Naudoweflie 
chiefs,  whom  he  prevailed  upon  to  go  towards  thofe 
parts. 


6*  CARVER's     TRAVELS. 

The  remainder  proceeded,  according  to  my  di- 
rections, to  the  Englifh  fort;  from  whence  I  after- 
wards heard  that  they  returned  to  their  own  country 
without  any  unfortunate  accident  befalling  them, 
and  greatly  pleafcd  with  the  reception  they  had  met 
with.  Wbilft  not  more  than  half  of  thofe  who  went 
to  the  fouthward,  through  the  difference  of  that 
Southern  climate  from  their  ©v/n,  lived  to  reach  their 
abode.  And  fmce  I  came  to  England  I  have  been 
informed,  that  the  Grand  Sautor  having  rendered 
himfelf  more  and  more  difgufcful  to  the  Englim, 
by  his  inveterate  enmity  towards  them,  was  at 
length  ftabbed  in  his  tent,  as  he  encamped  nearMi- 
chiilimackin^c,  by  a  trader  to  whom  I  had  related 
the  foregoing  ilory. 

I  mould  have  remarked,  that  whatever  Indians 
happen  to  meet  at  La  Prairie  le  Chien,  the  great 
mart  to  which  all  who  inhabit  the  adjacent  countries 
refort,  though  the  nations  to  which  they  belong 
are  at  war  with  each  other,  yet  they  are  obliged  to 
reflrain  their  enmity,  and  to  forbear  all  hoftiie  acts 
during  their  flay  there.  This  regulation  has  been 
long  eftablifhed  among  them  for  their  mutual  con- 
veniences, as  without  it  no  trade  could  be  carried 
on.  The  fame  rule  is  obferved  alio  at  the  P.ed 
Mountain  (afterwards  defcribed)  from  whence  they 
get  the  (lone  of  which  they  make  their  pipes:  thefe 
'ot'mg  indifpenfable  to  the  accommodation  of  every 
neighbouring  tribe,  a  fimilar  reftridtion  becomes 
needful,  and  is  of  public  utility. 

The  river  St.  Pierre,  which  runs  through  the 
Territories  of  the  NaudoweiTies,  flows  through  a 
mod  delightful  country,  abounding  with  all  the  ne- 
celTaries  of  life,  that  grow  fpontane©ufly;  and  with 
a  little  cultivation  it  might  be  made  to  produce  even 
the  luxuries  of  life.     Wild  rice  grows  here  in  great 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  63 

abundance  ;  and  every  part  is  filled  with  trees  bend- 
ing under  their  loads  of  fruits,  fuch  as  plums, 
grapes,  and  apples  ;  the  meadows  are  covered  with 
hops,  and  many  forts  of  vegetables;  whilft  the 
ground  is  flored  with  ufeful  roots,  with  angelica, 
fpikenard,  and  ground-nuts  as  large  as  hens'  eggs,- 
At  a  little  diftance  from  the  fides  of  the  river  are 
eminences,  from  which  you  have  views  that  cannot 
be  exceeded  even  by  the  moil  beautiful  of  thofe  I 
have  already  defcribed  ;  amidft  thefe  are  delightful 
groves,  and  fuch  amazing  quantities  of  maples,  that 
they  would  produce  fugar  fufficient  for  any  number 
of  inhabitants. 

A  little  way  from  the  mouth  of  this  river,  on  the 
north  fide  of  it,  (lands  a  hill,  one  part  of  which, 
that  towards  the  Mifliffippi,  is  compofed  entirely  of 
white  ftone,  of  the  fame  foft  nature  as  that  1  have 
before  defcribed;  for  fuch,  indeed,  is  all  the  ftone 
in  this  country.  But  what  appears  remarkable,  is, 
that  the  colour  of  it  is  as  white  as  the"driven  mow. 
The  outward  part  of  it  was  crumbled  by  the  wind 
and  weather  into  heaps  of  fand,  of  which  a  beautiful 
compofition  might  be  made;  or,  I  am  of  opinion 
that,  when  properly  treated,  the  ftone  itfelf  would 
grow  harder  by  time,  and  have  a  very  noble  effect 
in  architecture. 

Near  that  branch  which  is  termed  the  Marble 
River,  is  a  mountain,  from  whence  the  Indians  get 
a  fort  of  red  ftone,  out  of  which  they  hew  the  bowls 
of  their  pipes.  In  fome  of  thefe  parts  is  found  a 
black,  hard  clay,  or  rather  ftone,  of  which  the 
Naudoweflies  make  their  family  utenfils.  This 
country  likewife  abounds  with  a  milk-white  clay, 
of  which  China  ware  might  be  made  equal  in  good- 
nefs  to  the  Afiatic ;  and  alio  with  a  blue  clay  that 
ferves  the  Indians  for  paint,  with  this  laft  they  con- 


64  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

trive,  by  mixing  it  with  the  red  ftone  powdered, 
to  paint  themielves  of  different  colours.  Thofe  that 
can  get  the  blue  clay  here  mentioned,  paintthemfeives 
very  much  with  it;  particularly  when  they  are  about 
to  begin  their  fpcrts  and  paftimes.  It  is  alfo  eiteemed 
by  them  a  mark  of  peace,  as  it  has  a  refemblancc 
of  a  blue  fky,  which  with  them  is  a  fymbol  of  it, 
and  made  ufe  of  in  their  fpeeches  as  a  figurative 
exprefTion  to  denote  peace.  When  they  wifh  to 
fhew  that  their  inclinations  are  pacific  towards  other 
tribes,  they  greatly  ornament  both  themfelves  and 
their  belts  with  it. 

Having  concluded  my  bufinefs  at  La  Prairie  le 
Chien,  I  proceeded  once  more  up  the  Miiliffippi, 
as  far  as  the  place  where  the  Chipeway  River  enters 
it  :-.  little  below  Lake  Pepin.  Here,  having  en- 
gaged an  Indian  pilot,  I  directed  him  to  fleer  towards 
the  Ottawaw  Lakes,  which  lie  near  the  head  of  this 
river.  This  he  did,  and  I  arrived  at  them  the  be- 
ginning of  July. 

The  Chipeway  River,  at  its  junction  with  the 
Miffiflippi,  is  about  eighty  yards  wide,  but  is  much 
wider  as  you  advance  into  it.  Near  thirty  miles 
up  it  feparates  into  two  branches,  and  I  took  my 
courfe  through  that  which  lies  to  the  eaftward. 

The  country  adjoining  to  the  river,  for  about 
fixty  miles,  is  very  level,  and  on  its  banks  lie 
fine  meadows,  where  larger  droves  of  buffaloes  and 
elks  were  feeding,  than  I  had  obferved  in  any  other 
part  of  my  travels.  The  track  between  the  two 
branches  of  this  •  river  is  termed  the  Road  of  war 
between  the  Chipeway  and  NaudowelTie  Indians. 

The  country  to  the  Falls  is  almoft  without  any 
timber,  and  above  that  very  uneven  and  rugged, 


CARVERS     TRAVELS.  65 

and  clofely  wooded  with  pines,  beach,  maple,  and 
birch.  Here  a  moil  remarkable  and  aftonifhing 
fight  prefented  itfelf  to  my  view.  In  a  wood,  on 
the  earl  of  the  river,  which  was  about  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  In  length,  and  in  depth  further  than  my 
eye  could  reach,  I  obferved  that  every  tree,  many 
of  which  were  more  than  fix  feet  in  circumference, 
was  lying  flat  on  the  ground,  torn  up  by  the  roots. 
This  appeared  to  have  been  done  by  fome  extraor- 
dinary hurricane,  that  came  from  the  weft  fome 
years  ago;  but  how  many  I  could  not  learn,  as  I 
found  no  inhabitants  near  it,  of  whom  I  could 
gain  information.  The  country  on  the  weft  fide 
of  the  river,  from  being  lefs  woody,  had  efcaped  in 
a  great  meafure  this  havoc,  as  only  a  few  trees  were 
blown  down. 

Near  the  heads  of  this  river,  is  a  town  of  the  Chi- 
peways,  from  whence  it  takes  its  name.  It  is  fituated 
on  each  fide  of  the  river  (which  at  this  place  is  of  no 
considerable  breadth)  and  lies  adjacent  to  the  banks  of 
a  fmail  lake.  This  town  contains  about  forty  houfes, 
and  can  fend  out  upwards  of  one  hundred  warriors, 
many  of  whom  were  fine,  ftout  young  men.  The 
houfes  of  it  are  built  after  the  Indian  manner,  and. 
have  neat  plantations  behind  them;  but  the  inhabi- 
tants, in  genera],  fsemed  to  be  the  naftieft  people 
I  had  ever  been  among.  I  obferved  that  the  women 
and  children  indulged  themfelves  in  a  cuftom,  which 
though  common,  in  fome  degree,  throughout  every 
Indian  nation,  appears  to  be,  according  to  our  ideas, 
pf  the  mod  naufeous  and  indelicate  nature;  that  of 
fearching  each  other'?  head,  .and  easing  the  prey 
caught  therein. 

In  July  J  Jeft  this  town,  and  having  croffed  a 
nurn.ber  of  fm,all  lakes  and  carrying  places  that  inter- 

J 


66  ARVER'j    TRAVELS 

vened>  came  to  a  head  branch  of  the  river  St. 
Croix.  This  branch  I  defcended  to  a  fork,  and 
then  afcehded  another  to  its  fource.  On  both  thefe 
rivers  I  difcovered  feveral  mines  of  virgin  cop- 
per, which  was  as  pure  as  that  found  in  any  ether 
country. 

Here  I  came  to  a  fmafll  brook,  which  my  r;uide 
thought  might  be  joined  at  fome  diftance  by  dreams 
that  would  at  length  render  it  navigable.  The 
water  at  firft  was  fo  fcanty,  that  my  canoe  would 
by  no  means  fwim  in  it;  but  having  Hopped  up 
ieveral  old  beaver  dams,  which  had  been  broken 
oown  by  the  hunters,  I  was  enabled  to  proceed  for 
fome  miles,  till  by  the  conjunction  of  a  few  brooks, 
thefe  aids  became  no  longer  recelTsry;  In  a  fhort 
time  the  water  increafed  to  a  moll  rapid  river,  which 
we  defcended  till  it  entered  into  Lake  Superior. 
This  river  I  named  after  a  gentleman  that  defired 
to  accompany  me  from  the  tcrwn  of  the  Ottagau- 
mies  to  the  Carrying  Place  on  Lake  Superior,  God- 
dard's  River. 

To  the  weft  of  this  is  another  fmall  river,  which 
alfo  empties  itfelf  into  the  Lake.  This  I  termed 
Strawberry  River,  from  the  great  number  of 
ftrawberries  of  a  good  fize  and  flavor  that  grew  on 
its  banks. 

The  country  from  the  Ottowaw  Lakes  to  Lake 
Superior,  is  in  general  very  uneven  and  thickly 
covered  with  woods.  The  foil  in  fome  places  is 
tolerably  good,  in  others  but  indifferent.  In  the 
heads  of  the  St.  Croix  and  the  Chipev/ay  Rivers  are 
exceeding  fine  iluiyeon.  All  the  wildernefs  be- 
tween the  Miffiffippi  and  Lake  Superior  is  called 
by  the  Indians,  the  Molchcttoe  Country,  and  I 
thought  it  moil  jullly   named  -,  for,it  being  then 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  6? 

their  feafon,  I  never  faw  or  felt  h  many  of  thole 
in  Teds  in  my  life. 

The  latter  end  of  July  I  arrived,  after  having 
coafted  through  Weil  Bay,  at  the  Grand  Portage^ 
which  lies  on  the  north-weft  borders  of  Lake  Su- 
perior. Here  thofe  who  go  on  the  north -weft 
trade,  to  the  Lakes  De  Pluye,  Dubois,  &c.  carry- 
over their  canoes  and  baggage  about  nine  miles, 
till  they  come  to  a  number  of  fmall  lakes,  the  wa- 
ters of  fome  of  which  defcend  into  Lake  Superior, 
and  others  into  the  river  Bourbon.  Lake  Supe- 
rior from  Weft  Bay  to  this  place  is  bounded  by- 
rocks,  except  towards  the  fouth-weft  part  of  the 
Bay  where  I  firft  entered  it,  there  it  was  tolerably 
level. 

At  the  grand  Portage  is  a  fmall  bay,  before  the 
entrance  of  v/hich  lies  an  ifland  that  intercepts  the 
dreary  and  uninterrupted  view  over  the  Lake, 
which  otherwife  would  have  prefented  itfelf,  and 
makes  the  bay  ferene  and  pleafant.  Here  I  met  a 
large  party  of  the  Killiftinoe  and  Affinipoil  Indians, 
with  their  refpeclive  kings  and  their  families.  They 
were  come  to  this  place  in  order  to  meet  the  traders 
from  Michillimackinac,  who  make  this  their  road 
to  the  north-weft.  From  them  I  received  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  Lakes  that  lie  to  the  north- 
weft  of  Lake  Superior. 

Lake  Bourbon,  the  meft  northern  of  thofe  yet 
difcovered,  received  its  name  from  the  French  tra- 
ders who  accompanied  a  party  cf  Indians  to  Hud- 
son's Bay  fome  years  ago;  and  was  thus  denomi- 
nated by  them  in  honor  of  the  royai  Family  of  France, 
I:  is  compofed  of  the  waters  of  the  Bourbon  River, 
>vhich:  as  I  have  before  cbferved,  rifes  a.  great  wa^ 


63  CARVER's    TRAVELS. 

to  the  fouthward,  not  far  from  the  northern  heads 
of  the  Miffifftppi. 

This  lake  is  about  eighty  miles  in  length,  north 
and  fouth,  and  is  nearly  circular.  It  has  no  very 
large  iflands  on  it.  The  land  on  the  eaftern  fide  is 
very  good;  and  to  the  fouth- weft  there  are  fome 
mountains  -,  in  many  other  parts  there  are  barren 
plains j  bogs,  and  morafies.  Its  latitude  is  between 
fifty- two  and  fifty-four  degrees  north,  and  it  lies 
nearly  fouth-weft  from  Hudfon's  Bay.  As  through 
its  northern  fituation  the  weather  there  is  extremely 
cold,  only  a  few  animals  are  to  be  found  in  the 
country  that  borders  on  it.  They  gave  me  but  an 
indifferent  account  either  of  the  beafis,  birds,  or 
fifties.  There  are  indeed  fome  buffaloes  of  a  fmall 
fize,  which  are  fat  and  good  about  the  latter  end  of 
fummer,  with  a  few  moofe  and  carriboo  deer  :  who- 
ever, this  deficiency  is  made  up  by  the  furs  of  every 
fort  that  are  to  be  met  with  in  great  plenty  around 
the  "lake.  The  timber  growing  here  is  chiefly  fir, 
ceder,  fpruce,  and  fome  maple. 

Lake  Wir.nepeck,  or  as  the  French  write  it,  Lac 
Guinipique  which  lies  neareft  to  the  foregoing,  is 
cempofed  cf  the  fame  waters.  It  is  in  length  about 
two  hundred  miles  north  and  fouth  -s  its  breadth  has 
never  been  properly  afcertained,  but  is  fuppofedto 
be  about  one  hundred  miles  in  its  wideft  part.  This 
lake  is  very  full  of  iflands  \  thefe,  are  however,of  no 
great  magnitude.  Many  confiderable  rivers  empty 
themfelves  into  it,  which,  as  yet  are  notdiftinguifhed 
by  any  names.  The  waters  are  ftored  writh  fifh,  fuch 
as  trout  and  fturgeon,  and  alfo  with  others  of  a 
fmaller  kind  peculiar  to  thefe  lakes. 

The  land  en  the  fouth-weft  part  of  it  is  very 
gocd,  efpccially  about  theentrance  of  a  large  branch 
of  the  River  Bourbon,  which  flows  from  the  fouth- 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  69 

weft.  On  this  river  there  is  a  factory  that  was  built 
by  the  French,  called  Fort  la  Reine,  to  which  the 
traders  from  Michillimackinac  refort  to  trade  with 
the  Aflinipolis  and  Killiftinoes.  To  this  place  the 
Mahahs,  who  inhabit  a  country  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  fouth-weft  come  aifo  to  trade  with  them  ; 
and  bring  great  quantities  of  Indian  corn,  to  ex- 
change for  knives,  tomahawks,  and  other  articles. 
Thole  people  are  fuppofed  to  dwell  on  fome  of  the 
branches  of  the  River  of  the  Weft. 

Lake  Winnepeek  has  on  the  ncrth-eaft  fome 
mountains,  and  on  the  eaft  many  barren  plains.  The 
maple  or  fugar  tree  grows  here  in  great  plenty,  and 
there  is  likewife  gathered  an  amazing  quantity  of 
rice,  which  proves  that  grain  will  nourifh  in  thefe 
northern  climates  as  well  as  in  warmer.  Buffaloes, 
carriboo,  and  moofe  deer,  are  numerous  in  thefe 
parts.  The  buffaloes  of  this  country  differ  from 
thofe  that  are  found  more  to  the  fouth  only  in  fize  ,• 
the  former  being  much  fmaller  -,  juft  as  the  black 
cattle  cf  the  northern  parts  of  Great  Britain  differ 
from  Englifh  oxen. 

On  the  waters  that  fall  into  this  Lake,  the  neigh- 
bouring nations  take  great  numbers  of  excellent  furs. 
Some  of  thefe  they  carry  to  the  factories  and  fettle- 
ments  belonging  to  the  Hudfon's  Bay  Company, 
fuuated  above  the  entrance  of  the  Bourbon  River? 
but  this  they  do  with  reluctance,  on  feveral  accounts; 
for  fome  of  the  Afllnipoils  and  Killiftinoes,  who 
ufually  traded  with  the  Company's  fervants,  told 
me,  that  if  they  could  be  fure  of  a  conftant  fupply  of 
goods  from  Michillimackinac,  they  would  not  trade 
anywhere  elfe.  They  fhewed  me  fome  cloth  and 
other  articles  that  they  had  purchafed  at  Hudfon's 
Bay,  with  which  they  were  much  diffatisfied,  think- 
ing they  had  been  greatlyimpofed  upon  in  the  barter. 


;o  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

Allowing  that  their  accounts  were  true,  I  could  not 
help  joining  in  their  opinion.  But  this  dilTatisfac- 
tion  might  probably  proceed,  in  a  great  meafure, 
from  the  intrigues  of  the  Canadian  traders  :  for 
whilft  the  French  were  in  polTeflion  of  Michilli- 
mackinac,  having  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  trade  of  the  north- weft  countries,  they  were 
employed  on  that  account,  after  the  reduction  of 
Canada,  by  the  Englifri  traders  there,  in  the  efta- 
blifhment  of  this  trade  with  which  they  were  them- 
felves  quite  unacquainted.  One  of  the  methods  they 
took  to  withdraw  thefe  Indians  from  their  attach- 
ment to  the  Hudfon's  Bay  Company,  and  to  engage 
their  good  opinion  m  behalf  of  their  new  employers, 
was  by  depreciating  on  all  occafions  the  Company's 
goods,  and  magnifying  the  advantages  that  would 
arife  to  them  from  trafficing  entirely  with  the  Ca- 
nadian traders.  In  this  they  too  well  fucceeded, 
and  from,  this,  doubtlefs,  did  the  difTatisfaction  the 
AiTinipoils  and  Killiftinoes  expreffed  to  me,  part- 
ly proceed.  But  another  reafon  augmented  it ;  and 
this  was  the  length  of  their  journey  to  the  Hudfon's 
Bay  factories,  which,  they  informed  me,  took  them 
up  three  months,  during  the  furnmer  heats  to  go  and 
return,  and  from  the  fmallnefs  of  their  canoes  they 
could  not  carry  more  than  a  third  of  the  beavers 
they  killed.  So  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
that  thefe  Indians  mould  wifh  to  have  traders  come 
to  refide  among  them.  It  is  true  that  the  parts  they 
inhabit  are  within  the  limits  of  the  Hudfon's  Bay  ter- 
ritories ;  but  the  Company  muft  be  under  the  necef- 
fity  of  winking  at  an  encroachment  of  this  kind,  as 
the  Indians  would  without  doubt  protect  the  traders 
when  among  them.  Beiides,  the  paifports  granted 
to  the  traders  that  go  from  Michiilimackinac  give 
them  liberty  to  trade  to  the  north-weft  about  Lake 
Superior ;  by  which  is  meant  Fort  La  Reine,  Lake 
Wirmepeek,  or  any   other  parts  of  the  waters  of  the 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  i\ 

Bourbon  River,  where  the  Couriers  de  Bois,  or  Tra- 
ders, may  make  it  mod  convenient  to  refide. 

Luc  du  Bois,  as  commonly  termed  by  the 
French  in  their  maps,  or  in  Engiifh  the  Lake  of  the 
Wood,  is  fo  called  from  the  multiplicity  of  wood 
growing  on  its  banks ;  fuch  as  oaks,  pines,  firs, 
fpruce,  &c.  This  Lake  lies  ftiil  higher  upon  a 
branch  of  the  River  Bourbon,  and  nearly  eaft  from 
the  fouth  end  of  Lake  Winnepeek.  It  is  of  great 
depth  in  fome  places.  Its  length  from  eaft  to  weft 
about  feventy  miles,  and  its  greateft  breadth  about 
forty  miles.  It  has  but  few  iilands,  and  thefe  of  no 
great  magnitude.  The  fifhes,  fowls,  and  quadrupeds 
that  are  found  near  it,  vary  but  little  from  thofe  of 
the  other  two  lakes.  A  few  of  the  Killiftinoe  In- 
dians fometimes  encamp  on  the  borders  of  it  ttb  fifh 
and  hunt. 

This  Lake  lies  in  the  communication  between 
Lake  Superior,  and  the  Lakes  Winnepeek  and  BGur- 
bon.  Its  v/aters  are  not  efteemed  quite  fo  pure  as 
thofe  of  the  other  lakes,  it  having,  in  many  places,  a 
muddy  bottom. 

Lac  La  Pluye  fo  called  by  the  French,  in  Englilli 
the  Rainy  Lake,  is  fuppofed  to  have  acquired 
this  name  from  the  firft  travellers,  that  paffed  over  it, 
meeting  with  an  uncommon  deal  of  fain  \  or  as  fome 
have  affirmed,  from  a  mill  like  rain,  occafioned  by 
a  perpendicular  water-fall  that  empties  itfelf  into  a 
river  which  lies  to  the  fouth -v/ef?"« 

This  Lake  appears  to  be  divided  by  anifthmus,near 
the  middle,  into  two  parts  :  the  weft  part  is  called 
the  Great  Rainy  Lake,  the  eaft,  the  Little  Rainy 
Lake,  as  being  the  leaft  divifion.  It  lies  a  ftw  miles 
further  to  the  eaftward,  an  the  fame  branch   of  the 


r* 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS 


Bourbon,  than  the  laft  mentioned  Lake.  It  is  in 
general  very  fhallcw  in  its  depth.  The  broadeft 
part  of  it  is  not  more  than  twenty  miles  ;  its  length, 
including  both  about  three  hundred  miles.  In  the 
weft  part  the  water  is  very  clear  and  good  ;  and  fome 
excellent  fiih  are  taken  in  it.  A  great  many  fowl 
refort  here  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  Moofe  deer  are 
to  be  found  in  great  plenty,  and  likewife  the  car- 
riboo  j  whofe  fkin  for  breeches  or  gloves  exceeds  by 
far  any  other  to  be  met  with  in  North-America. 
The  land  on  the  borders  of  this  Lake  is  efteemed, 
in  fome  places,  very  good,  but  rather  too  thickly 
covered  with  wood.  Here  refrde  a  coniiderable 
band   of  the  Chipeways. 

Laftward  from  this  Lake  lie  feveral  fmall  ones, 
which  extend  in  a  firing  to  the  great  carrying  place, 
and  from  thence  into  Lake  Superior.  Between  thefe 
little  Lakes  are  feveral  carrying  places,  which  ren- 
ders the  trade  to  the  north-weft  difficult  to  accom- 
plish, and  exceeding  tedious,  as  it  takes  two  years  to 
make  one  voyage  from  Michillimackinac  to  thefe 
parts. 

Red  Lake  is  a  comparatively  fmall  lake,  at  the 
head  of  a  branch  of  the  Bourbon  River,  which  is 
called  by  fome  Red  River.  Its  form  is  nearly  round, 
and  about  fixty  miles  in  circumference.  On  one 
fide  of  it  is  a  tolerable  large  ifland,  clofe  by  which  a 
fmall  river  enters.  It  bears  almoft  fouth-eaft  both 
from  Lake  Winnepeek  and  from  Lake  du  Bois. 
The  parts  adjacent  are  very  little  kr.cwn  or  fre- 
quented, even  by  the  lavages  themfelves. 

Not  far  from  this  Lake,  a  little  to  the  fouth-weft,  is 
another,  called  White  Bear  Lake,  which  is  nearly 
about  the  ftze  of  the  laft  mentioned.  The  waters 
that  cornpofe  this  Lake  are  the  moil  northern  of 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  73 

that  fupply  the  Miflifiippi,  and  may  be  called  with 
propriety  its  moft  remote  fource.  It  is  fed  by  two 
or  three  iinail  rivers,  or  rather  large  brooks. 

A  few  miles  from  it,  to  the  fouth-eaft,  are  a  great 
number  of  fmall  lakes,  none  of  which  are  more  than 
ten  miles  in  circumference,  that  are  called  the 
Thoufand  Lakes.  In  the  adjacent  country  is  reck- 
oned the  fined  hunting  for  furs  of  any  on  this  conti- 
nent ;  the  Indians  who  hunt  here,  feldom  returning 
without  having  their  canoes  loaded  as  deep  as  they 
can  fwim. 

Having  jufb  before  obferved  that  this  Lake  is 
the  utmoft  northern  fource  of  the  MiiTiffippi,  I 
fhall  here  further  remark,  that  before  this  river 
enters  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  it  has  not  run  lefs, 
through  all  its  meanderings,  than  three  thoufand 
miles  i  or,  in  a  ftraight  line  from  north  to  fouth, 
about  twenty  degrees,  which  js  nearly  fourteen  hun- 
dred Englifh  miles. 

Thefe  Indians  informed  me,  that  to  the  north- 
weft  of  Lake  Winnepeek  lies  another,  whofe  cir- 
cumference vaftly  exceeded  any  they  had  given  me 
an  account  of.  They  defcribe  it  as  much  larger 
than  Lake  Superior.  But  as  it  appears  to  be  fo  far 
to  the  north-weft,  I  fTiould  imagine  that  it  was  not 
a  lake,  but  rather  the  Archipelago,  or  broken 
waters  that  form  the  communication  between  Hud- 
fon's  Bay  and  the  northern  parts  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

There  are  an  infinite  number  of  fmall  lakes,  on 
the  more  weftern  parts  of  the  weftern  head-branches 
of  the  MiflifTippi,  as  well  between  thefe  and  Lake 
Winnepeek,  but  none  of  them  are  large  enough  to 

K 


74  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

fuppofe   either  of  them   to  be  the  lake  or    waters 
meant  by  the  Indians. 

They  like  wife  informed  me,  that  fome  of  the 
northern  branches  of  the  Mefforie  and  the  fouthern 
branches  of  the  St.  Pierre  have  a  communication 
with  each  other,  except  for  a  mile;  over  which 
they  carry  their  canoes.  And  by  what  I  could 
learn  from  them,  this  is  the  road  they  take  when 
their  war  parties  make  their  excurfions  upon  the 
Pawnees  and  Pawnawnees,  nations  inhabiting  fome 
branches  of  the  Mefforie  River.  In  the  country 
belonging  to  thefe  people  it  is  laid,  that  Mandrakes 
are  frequently  found,  a  fpecies  of  root  refembling 
human  beings  of  both  fexes :  and  that  thefe  are  more 
perfect  than  fuch  as  are  difcovered  about  the  Nile 
in  Nether-Ethiopia, 

A  little  to  the  north-  weft  of  the  heads  of  the  Mef- 
forie and  St.  Pierre,  the  Indians  further  toid  me, 
that  there  was  a  nation  rather  fmaller  and  whiter 
than  the  neighbouring  tribes,  who  cultivate  the 
ground,  and  (as  far  as  I  could  gather  from  their 
exprefiions)  in  fome  meafure,  the  arts.  To  this 
account  they  added  that  fome  of  the  nations  who 
inhabit  thofe  parts  that  lie  to  the  weft  of  the  Shining 
Mountains,  have  gold  fo  plenty  among  them  that 
they  make  their  moft  common  utenfjls  of  it.  Thefe 
mountains  (which  I  fhall  defcribe  more  particu- 
larly hereafter)  divide  the  waters  that  fall  into 
the  South  Sea  from  thofe  that  run  into  the  At- 
lantic. 

The  people  dwelling  near  them  are  fuppofed  to 
be  fome  of  the  different  tribes  that  were  tributary 
fo  the  Mexican  kings,  and  who  fled  from  their  na- 
tive country,  to  feek  anafylum  in  thefe  parts,  about 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  75 

the  time  of  the  conqueft  of  Mexico  by  the  Spaniards, 
more  than  two  centuries  ag-o. 

o 

As  fome  confirmation  of  this  fuppofition,  it  is 
remarked,  that  they  have  chofen  the  mod  interior 
parts  of  their  retreat,  being  ftill  prepofleffed  with  a 
notion  that  the  fea-coafts  have  been  infefted  ever 
fince  with  monfters  vomiting  fire,  and  hurling  about 
thunder  and  lightning;  from  whofe  bowels  ifiued 
men,  who,  with  unfeen  inftruments,  or  by  the 
power  of  magic,  killed  the  harmlefs  Indians  at  an 
aftonifhing  diftance.  From  fuch  as  thefe,  their 
fore-fathers  (according  to  a  tradition  among  them 
that  ftill  remains  unimpaired)  fled  to  the  retired 
abodes  they  now  inhabit.  For  as  they  found  that: 
the  floating  monfters,  which  had  thus  terrified  them 
could  not  approach  the  land,  and  that  thofe  who  had 
defcended  from  their  fides  did  not  care  to  make 
excurfions  to  any  considerable  diftance  from  them, 
they  formed  a  refclution  to  betake  themfelves  to 
fome  country,  that  lay  far  from  the  fea-coafts, 
where  only  they  could  be  fecure  from  fuch  diabolical 
enemies.  They  accordingly  fet  out  with  their  fami- 
lies, and  after  a  long  peregrination,  fettled  them- 
felves near  thefe  mountains,  where  they  concluded 
they  had  found  a  place  of  perfect  fecurity. 

The  Winnebagoes,  dwelling  on  the  Fox  River 
(whom  I  have  already  treated  of)  are  likewife  fup- 
pofed  to  be  fome  ftrolling  band  from  the  Mexican 
countries.  But  they  are  able  to  give  only  an  im- 
perfect account  of  their  original  refidence.  They 
fay  they  formerly  came  a  great  way  from  the  weft- 
ward,  and  were  driven  by  wars  to  take  refuge 
among  the  Naudoweflies;  but  as  they  are  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  arts,  or  of  the  value  of  gold,  it  is  ra- 
ther to  be  fuppofed,  that  they  were  driven  from 
their  ancient  fettlements  by  the  above-mentioned 


;6  C  A  R  V  E  R  '  s     T  R  A  V  ELS. 

emigrants,  as  they  palled  on  towards   their  prcfent 
habitation. 

Thefe  fuppofmons,  however,  may  want  confir- 
mations for  the  fmaUer  tribes  of  Indians  are  fub- 
iec~t  to  fuch  various  alterations  in  their  places  of 
abode,  from  the  wars  they  are  continually  engaged 
in,  that  it  is  alrnoft  impoffible  to  afcertain,  after 
half  a  century,  the  original  fituation  of  any  of  them. 

That  range  of  mountains,  of  which  the  Shining 
Mountains  are  a  part,  begins  at  Mexico,  and  con- 
tinuing northward  on  the  back  or  to  the  eaft  of  Ca- 
lifornia,  feparate  the  waters  of  thofe  numerous  rivers 
that  fall  either  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  or  the  Gulf 
of  California.  From  thence  continuing  their  courfe 
ilill  northward,  between  the  fourcesofthe  Mifliffippi 
and  the  rivers  that  run  into  the  South  Sea,  they 
appear  to  end  in  about  forty- feven  or  forty-eight 
degrees  of  north  latitude  -,  where  a  number  of  rivers 
arife,  and  empty  themfelves  either  into  the  South 
Sea,  into  Hudfon's  Bay,  or  into  the  waters  that 
communicate  between  thefe  two  feas. 

Among  thefe  mountains,  thofe  that  lie  to  the 
weft  of  the  river  St.  Pierre,  are  called  the  Shin- 
ing mountains,  from  an  infinite  number  of  chryftal 
ilones,  of  an  amazing  fize  with  which  they  are 
covered,  and  which,  when  the  fun  mines  full  upon 
them,  fparkle  fo  as  to  be  feen  at  a  very  great  dif- 
tance. 

This  extraordinary  range  of  mountains  is  calcu- 
lated to  be  more  than  three  thoufand  miles  in  length, 
without  any  very  confiderable  intervals,  which  I 
believe  furpaffes  any  thing  of  the  kind  in  the  other 
quarters  of  the  globe.  Probably  in  future  ages  they 
may  be  found  to  contain  more  riches  in  their  bowels, 


TRAVELS.  77 

than  thofe  of  Indoftan  and  Malabar,  or  that  are  pro- 
duced on  the  golden  coaft  of  Guinea;  nor  will  I 
except  even  the  Peruvian  mines.  To  the  weft  of 
thefe  mountains,  when  explored  by  future  Colum- 
bufes  or  Raleighs,  may  be  found  other  lakes,  ri- 
vers, and  countries,  full  fraught  with  all  the  necef- 
faries  or  luxuries  of  life;  and  where  future  genera- 
tions may  find  an  afylum,  whether  driven  from  their 
country  by  the  ravages  of  lawlefs  tyrants,  or  by 
religious  perfecutions,  or  reluctantly  leaving  it  to 
remedy  the  inconveniencies  arifing  from  a  fupera- 
bundant  increafe  of  inhabitants;  whether,  I  fay> 
impelled  by  thefe,  or  allured  by  hopes  of  commer- 
cial advantages,  there  is  little  doubt  but  their  ex- 
pectations will  be  fully  gratified  in  thefe  rich  and 
unexhaufted  climes. 

But  to  return  to  the  Aflinipoils  and  Killiftinoes, 
whom  I  left  at  the  Grand  Portage,  and  from  whom 
I  received  the  foregoing  account  of  the  lakes  that  lie 
to  the  north-well:  of  this  place. 

The  traders  we  expected  being  later  this  feafon 
than  ufual,  and  our  numbers  very  confiderable,  for 
there  were  more  than  three  hundred  of  us,  the  ftock 
of  provifions  we  had  brought  with  us  was  nearly 
exhaufted,  and  we  waited  with  impatience  for  their 
arrival. 

One  day,  whilft  we  were  all  exprelTing  ourwifhes 
for  this  deferable  event,  and  looking  from  an  emi- 
nence in  hopes  of  feeing  them  come  over  the  lake, 
the  chief  prieft  belonging  to  the  band  of  the  Kil- 
liftinoes,  told  us,  that  he  would  endeavour  to  ob- 
tain a  conference  with  the  Great  Spirit,  and  know 
from  him  when  the  traders  would  arrive.  I  paid 
little  attention  to  this  declaration,  fuppofing  that 
it  would  be  productive  of  fome  juggling  trick,  juft 


78  C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVELS. 

iufEciently  covered  to  deceive  the  ignorant  Indi- 
ans. But  the  king  of  that  tribe  telling  me  that  this 
was  chiefly  undertaken  by  the  prieft,  to  alleviate 
my  anxiety,  and  at  the  fame  time  to  convince  me 
how  much  intereft  he  had  with  the  Great  Spirit,  I 
thought  it  neceffary  to  rcftrain  my  animadverfions 
on  his  defign. 

The  following  evening  was  fixed  upon  for  this 
fpiritcal  conference.  When  every  thing  had  been 
properly. prepared,  the  king  came  to  me  and  led 
me  to  a  capacious  tent,  the  covering  of  which  was 
drawn  up,  fo  as  to  render  what  was  tranfacting 
within,  vifible  to  thofe  who  flood  without.  We 
found  the  tent  furrounded  by  a  great  number  of  the 
Indians,  but  we  readily  gained  admiiTion,  and  feated 
ourfelves  on  ikins  laid  on  the  ground  for  that  pur- 
pofe. 

In  the  center  I  obferved  that  there  was  a  place  of 
an  oblong  fhape,  which  was  compofed  of  flakes 
fhick  in  the  ground,  with  intervals  between,  fo  as 
to  form  a  kind  of  chefl  or  coffin,  large  enough  to 
contain  the  body  of  a  man.  Thefe  were  of  a  mid- 
dle fize,  and  placed  at  fuch  a  diftance  from  each 
other,  that  whatever  lay  within  them  was  readily  to 
be  difcerned.  The  tent  was  perfectly  illuminated 
by  a  great  number  of  torches  made  of  fplinters  cut 
from  the  pine  or  birch  tree,  which  the  Indians  held 
in  their  hands. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  pried  entered;  when  an 
amazing  large  elk's  (kin  being  fpread  on  the  ground 
juft  at  my  kct,  he  laid  himfelf  down  upon  it,  after 
having  flript  himfelf  of  every  garment  except  that 
which  he  wore  clofe  about  his  middle.  Being  now 
proftrate  on  his  back,  he  firft  laid  hold  of  one  fide  of 
the  (kin,  and  folded  it  over  him3  and  then  the  other ; 


CARVER'S        TRAVELS. 


79 


leaving  only  his  head  uncovered.  This  was  no 
fooner  done,  than  two  of  the  young  men  who  flood 
by,  took  about  forty  yards  of  ftrong  cord,  made 
alio  of  an  elk's  hide,  and  rolled  it  tight  round  his 
body,  fo  that  he  was  completely  fwathed  within  the 
fkin.  Being  thus  bound  up  like  an  Egyptian  Mum- 
my, one  took  him  by  the  heels,  and  the  other  by 
the  head,  and  lifted  him  over  the  pales  into  the 
enclofure.  I  could  alfo  -now  difcern  him  as  plain. 
as  I  had  hitherto  done,  and  I  took  care  not  to  turn 
my  eyes  a  moment  from  the  object  before  me,  that 
I  might  the  more  readily  detect  the  artifice  -,  for 
fuch  I  doubted  not  but  that  it  would  turn  out  to  be. 

The  prieft  had  not  lain  in  this  fituation  more  than 
a  few  feconds,  when  he  began  to  mutter.  This  he 
continued  to  do  for  fome  time,  and  then  by  degrees 
grew  louder  and  louder,  [till  at  length  he  fpoke 
articulately;  however,  what  he  uttered  was  in  fuch 
a  mixed  jargon  of  the  Chipeway,  Ottawaw,  and 
Killiflinoe  languages,  that  I  could  underfland  but 
very  little  of  it.  Having  continued  in  this  tone  for 
a  confiderable  while,  he  at  laft  exerted  his  voice  to 
its  utmofl  pitch,  fometimes  raving,  and  fometimes 
praying,  till  he  had  worked  himfelf  into  fuch  an  agi- 
tation, that  he  foamed  at  his  mouth. 

After  having  remained  near  three  quarters  of  an 
hour  in  the  place,  and  continued  his  vociferation 
with  unabated  vigor,  he  feemed  to  be  quite  ex- 
haufted,  and  remained  fpeechlefs.  But  in  an  inflant 
he  fprung  upon  his  feet,  notwithftanding  at  the  time 
he  was  put  in,  it  appeared  impofiible  for  him  to 
move  either  his  legs  or  arms,  and  (baking  off  his 
covering,  as  quick  as  if  the  bands  with  which  it  had 
heen  bound  were  burned  afunder,  he  began  to  ad- 
drefs  thofe  who  flood  around,  in  a. firm  and  audible 
VDice.     ".My   brothers/'   faid  he,    u  tht  Great 


go  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

IC  Spirit  has  deigned  to  hold  a  Talk  with  his  fervant, 
<c  at  my  earneft  requeft.  He  has  not,  indeed,  told 
cc  me  when  the  perfons  we  expect,  will  be  here  ;  but 
"  to-morrow,lbon  after  the  fun  has  reached  his  high- 
c<  eft  point  in  the  heavens,  a  canoe  will  arrive,  and 
"  the  people  in  that  will  inform  us  when  the  traders 
"  will  come." 

Having  faid  this,  he  ftepped  out  of  the  enclofure, 
and  after  he  had  put  on  his  robes,  difmified  the  aftem- 
bly.  I  own  I  was  greatly  aftonifhed  at  what  I  had 
ken  j  but  as  Iobferved  that  every  eye  in  the  com- 
pany was  fixed  on  me  with  a  view  to  difcover  my 
fentiments,  Icai-efuily  concealed  every  emotion. 

The  next  day  the  fun  fhone  bright,  and  long  be- 
fore noon  all  the  Indians  were  gathered  together  on 
the  eminence  that  overlooked  the  lake.  The  old 
king  came  to  me  and  afked  me  whether  I  had  fo 
much  confidence  in  what  the  prieft  had  foretold,  as 
to  join  his  people  on  the  hill,  and  wait  for  the  com- 
pletion of  it  ?  I  told  him  I  was  at  a  lofs  what  opinion 
to  form  of  the  prediction,  but  that  I  would  readily 
attend  him.  On  this  wTe  walked  together  to  the 
place  where  the  others  were  affembled.  Every  eye 
was  again  fixed  by  turns  on  me  and  on  the  lake ; 
when  juft  as  the  fun  had  reached  hiszenith,  agreeable 
to  what  the  prieft  had  foretold,  a  canoewame  round 
a  point  of  land  about  a  league  diftant.  The  Indians 
no  fooner  beheld  it,  than  they  fet  up  an  univerfal 
ihout,  and  by  their  looks  feemed  to  triumph  in  the 
intereft  their  prieft  thus  evidently  had  with  the 
Great  Spirit. 

In  lefs  than  an  hour  the  canoe  reached  the  fhore 
when  I  attended  the  king  and  chiefs  to  receive  thofe 
who  were  on  board.  As  foon  as  the  men  were, 
landed,  we  walked  all  together  to  the  king's  tent; 


CARVER's      TRAVELS.  Si 

when  according  to  their  invariable  cuftom,  we  began 
to  fmoke  ;  and  this  we  did,  notwithftanding  our  im- 
patience to  know  the  tidings  they  brought  without 
afking  any  queftions  ;  for  the  Indians  are  the  moft 
deliberate  people  in  the  world.  However,  after 
fome  trivial  converfation,  the  king  enquired  of  them, 
whether  they  had  fctn  any  thing  of  the  traders?  The 
men  replied,  that  they  had  parted  from  them  a  few 
days  before,  and  that  they  propofed  being  here  the 
fecond  day  from  the  pre  lent.  They  accordingly  ar- 
rived at  that  time  greatly  to  our  fatisfaction,  but 
more  particularly  fo  to  that  of  the  Indians,  who 
found  by  this  event  the  importance  both  of  their 
pried  and  of  their  nation,  greatly  augmented  in  the 
fight  of  a  ftranger. 

This  ftory  I  acknowledge  appears  to  carry  with  it- 
marks  of  great  credulity  in  the  reiater.  But  no  one 
is  lefs  tinctured  with  that  weaknefs  than  myfelf.  The 
circumfcances  of  it,  Iown,  are  ofa  very  extraordinary 
nature  -,  however,  as  I  can  vouch  for  their  being  free 
from  either  exaggeration  or  mifreprefentation,  being 
myfelf  a  cool  and  difpailionate  obferver  of  them  all 
I  thought  it  necefTary  to  give  them  to  the  public. 
And  this  I  do  without  wiming  to  miHead  the  judg- 
ment of  my  readers,  or  to  make  any  fuperftitious 
impreffions  on  their  minds,  but  leaving  them  to 
draw  from  if-what  conclufions  they  pleafe, 

I  have  already  obferved  that  the  Affinipoils,  with 
a  part  of  whom  I  met  here,  are  a  revolted  band  of 
the  Naudowerlies  ;  who  on  account  of  fome  real  or 
imagined  grievances,  for  the  Indians  in  general  are 
very  tenacious  of  their  liberty,  had  feparated  them- 
fclves  from  their  countrymen,  and  fought  for  free- 
dom at  the  expence  of  their  eafe.  For  the  country 
they  now  inhabit  about  the  borders  of  Lake  Winne- 

L 


s.  CARVE  R's    TRAVELS. 

peek,  being  much  further  north,  is  not  near  fo  fertile 
cr  agreeable  as  that  they  have  relinqui&ed.  They 
ftill  retain  the  language  and  manners  of  their  former 
aiTcciates. 

The  Killiftinoes,  now  the  neighbours  and  allies  of 
the  Affinipoils,  for  they  alfo  dwell  near  the  fame 
lake,  and  on  the  waters  of  the  river  Bourbon,  ap- 
pear to  have  been  originally  a  tribe  of  the  Chipe- 
ways,  as  they  ipeak  their  language,  though  in  a  dif- 
ferent dialect.  Their  nation  ccnfifts  of  about  three 
or  four  hundred  warriors,  and  they  feem  to  be  a 
hardy,  brave  people.  I  have  already  given  an  ac- 
count of  their  country  when  I  treated  of  Lake  Win- 
nepeek.  As  they  re  fide  within  the  limits  of  Hud- 
son's Bay,  they  generally  trade  at  the  factories  which 
belong  to  that  company,  but.  for  the  reafons  men- 
tioned before,  they  frequently  come  to  the  place 
where  I  happened  to  join  them,  in  order  to  meet  the 
traders  from  Michillimackinac. 

The  anxiety  I  had  felt  on  account  of  the  traders'  de- 
lay, was  not  much  alleviated  by  their  arrival.  I  again 
found  my  expectations  difappointed,   for  I  was  not 
able  to  procure  the  goods  I  wanted  from  any  of  them. 
I  was  therefore   obliged  to    give  over  my  defigns, 
and  return  to  fnc  place    from  whence  I  firft    began 
my  extenfive  circuit.     1  accordingly  took    leave  of 
the  old  king  of  the  Kiliiftinoes,  with  the    chiefs  of 
both  bands,  and  departed.      This    prince    was  up- 
wards of  fixty  years  of  age,  tall    and   flightly   made, 
but  he  carried   himfelf  very    erect.     He    was  of  a 
courteous,  affable  cifpofition,  and  treated  me,  as  did 
all  the  chiefs,  with  great  civility. 

I  obferved  that  this  people  frill    continued  a  cuf- 
torn,  that  appeared  to   have    been   univerfal   before 
any  of  them  became  acquainted  with  the  manners  of 
the   Europeans,  that  of  complimenting    ftrangers 


CARVER'S     T  R  A  V  E  L  S.  j?3 

with  the  company  of  their  wives  ;  andthis  is  net  only 
pra&ifed  by  the  lower  ranks,  but  by  the  chiefs  them- 
felves,  who  efteetn  i:  the  greateit.  proof  of  courcfey 
they  can  give  a  itranger. 

The  beginning  of  October,  afcer  having  coafted 
round  the  north  and  eaft  borders  of  Lake  Superiour. 
I  arrived  at  Cadotfs  Fort,  which  adjoins  to  the  Fails 
of  St.  Marie,  and  is  fituated  near  the  fouth-weft 
corner  of  it. 

Lake  Superior,  formerly  termed  the  Upper 
Lake,  from  its  northern  fituation,  is  fo  called  on  ac- 
count of  its  being  fuperior  in  magnitude  to  any  of 
the  Lakes  on  that  vaft  continent.  It  might  juftly 
be  termed  the  Cafpian  of  America,  and  is  fuppofed 
to  be  the  larger!  body  of  frefh  water  on  the  globe. 
Its  circumference,  according  to  the  French  charts, 
is  about  fifteen  hundred  miles;  but  I  believe,  that 
if  it  was  co? (led  round,  and  the  utrndft  extent  of 
every  bay  taken,  it  would  exceed  fixteen  hundred. 

After  I  firil  entered  it  from  Goddar's  River  on  the 
weft  Bay,  I  coafted  near  twelve  hundred  miles  of  the 
north  and  eaft  mores  of  it,  and  obferved  that  the 
greateit  part  of  that  extenfive  tract  was   bounded  by 
rocks  and  uneven   ground.     The    water  in    general 
appeared  to  lie  on  a   bed  of  rocks.     When  it   was 
calm,  and    the  fun    ihone   bright,  I  could  fit  in  my 
canoe,   where  the  depth  was  upwards  of  fix  fathoms, 
and  plainly  fee  huge  piles  of  itone  at  the  bottom,  of 
different  fnapes,  fome  of  which  appeared  as  if  they 
were  hewn.    The  water  at  this  time  was  as  pure  and 
rranfparent  as    air  -,  and  my  canoe   feemed  as  if  k 
hung  fufpended  in  that  element.     It  was  impcffible 
to  look  attentively  through    this  limpid   medium  at  % 
the  rocks  below,  without  finding,    before  many  mi- 
nutes were  elapfed,  your  head  fv/jm,   and  your  eyes 
no  longer  able  to  behold  fhe  dazzling  fcene, 


84  C  A  R  V  E  R  f  s     T  R  A  V^E  L  S. 

I  difcovered  alio  by  accident  mother  extraor- 
dinary property  in  the  waters  of  this  lake.  Though 
it  was  in  the  month  of  July  that  I  palled  over  it,  and 
the  furface  of  the  water,  fiom  the  heat  of  the  fu- 
perambient  air,  impregnated  with  no  imall  degree  of 
warmth,  yet  on  letting  down  a  cup  to  the  depth  of 
about  a  fathom,  the  water  drawn  from  thence  was  ib 
exceflively  cold,  that  it  had  the  lame  effect  when 
received  into  the  mouth  as  ice. 

The  fituation  of  this  lake  is  variouily  laid  down; 
but  from  the  mod  exact  obfervations  I  could  make, 
it  lies  between  forty-fix  and  fifty  degrees  of  north 
latitude,  and  between  eighty-four  and  ninety-three 
degrees  of  welt  longitude,  from  the  meridian  of 
London. 

There  are  many  ifiands  in  this  lake,  two  of  which 
are  very  large  -,  and  if  the  land  of  them  is  proper  for 
cultivation,  there  appears  to  be  fufficient  to  form  on 
each  a  ccnfiderable  province  5  efpecially  on  Ifle 
Royal,  which  cannot  be  lefs  than  an  hundred  miles 
long,  and  in  many  places  forty  broad.  But  there  is 
no  way  at  prefect  of  afcertaining  the  exact  length  or 
breadth  of  either.  Even  the  French,  who  always 
kept  a  fmall  fchooner  on  this  lake,  whilfl  they  were 
in  pofieflion  of  Canada,  by  which  they  could  have 
made  this  difcovery,  have  only  acquired  a  flight 
knowledge  of  the  external  parts  of  thefe  ifiands  -,  at 
leaft  they  have  never  published  any  account  of  the 
internal  parts  of  them,  that  I  could  get  intelligence  of. 

Nor  was  I  able  to  difcover  from  any  of  the  conver- 
fations  which  I  held  with  the  neighbouring  Indians, 
that  they  had  ever  made  any  fettlements  on  them,  or 
even  landed  there  in  their  hunting  excurfions.  From 
what  I  could  gather  by  their  difcourfe,  they  fuppoie 
them  to  have  been,   from  their   firft   formation  the 


CAR  V  E  R's     TRAVELS.  85 

refidence  of  the  Great  Spirit  ;  and  relate  many  ridi- 
culous {lories  of  enchantment  and  magical  tricks  that 
had  been  experienced  by  fuch  as  were  obliged 
through  ftrefs  of  weather  to  take  fhelter  on  them. 

One  of  the  Chipeway  chiefs  told  me,  that  fome  of 
their  people  being  once  driven  on  the  ifland  ofMau- 
repas,  which  lies  towards  the  north-eaft  part  of  the 
lake,  found  on  it  large  quantities  of  heavy,  mining, 
yellow  land,  that  from  their  defcription  muft  have 
been  gold  dufl.  Being  (truck  with  the  beautiful  ap- 
pearance of  it,  in  the  morning,  when  they  re-entered 
their  canoe,  they  attempted  to  bring  fome  away  5 
but  a  fpirit  of  an  amazing  fize,  according  to  their  ac- 
count, fixtyfeet  in  height,  ftrode  in  the  water  after 
them,  and  commanded  them  to  deliver  back  what 
they. had  taken  away.  Terrified  at  his  gigantic  ftature, 
and  feeing  that  he  had  nearly  overtaken  them,  they 
were  glad  to  reftore  their  mining  treafure  -,  on  which 
they  were  fuffered  to  depart  without  further  molefta- 
tion.  Since  this  incident  no  Indian  that  has  ever 
heard  of  it  will  venture  near  the  fame  haunted  coaft. 
Befides  this,  they  recounted  to  me  many  other 
iloriesof  thefe  iflands,  equally  fabulous. 

The  country  on  the  north  and  eaft  parts  of  Lake 
Superior  is  very  mountainous  and  barren.  The 
weather  being  intenfely  cold  in  the  winter,  and  the 
fun  having  but  little  power  in  the  iummer,  vegeta- 
tion there  is  very  flow  ;  and  confequently  but  little 
fruit  is  to  be  fcund  on  its  fnore.  It  however  pro- 
duces fome  few  fpecies  in  great  abundance. 
Whortleberries  ofan  uncommon  fize  and  fine  flavor, 
grow  on  the  mountains  near  the  lake  in  amazing 
quantities  ■,  as  do  black  currants  and  goofberries  in 
the  fame  luxuriant  manner. 

But  the  fruit  which   exceeds  all  the  others,  is  a 
berry  refembling  arafberry  in  its  manner  of  growth;, 


86  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

but  of  a  lighter  red,  aiid  much  larger ;  its  tafte  is 
far  more  delicious  than  the  fruit  I  have  compared  it 
to,  notwithstanding  that  it  is  lo  highly  efteemed  in 
Europe  :  it  grows  on  a  fhrub  of  the  nature  of  a  vine, 
with  leaves  fimilar  to  thofe  of  the  grape  i  and  lam 
perfuaded  that  was  it  tranfplanted  into  a  warmer  and 
more  kindly  climate,  it  would  prove  a  moft  rare  and 
delicious  fruit. 

Two  very  largerivers  empty  themfelvcs  into  this 
lake,  on  the  north  and  riorth-eaft  fide  ■,  one  is  called 
the  Nipegon  River,  or,  as  the  French  pronounce  it 
Allanipegon,  which  leads  to  a  band  of  the  Chipcways, 

inhabiting  a  lake  of  the  fame  name,  and  the  other  is^ 
termed  the  Michipicooton  River,  the  fource  of 
which  is  iituated  towards  James's  Bay,  from  whence 
there  is  but  a  fhort  carriage  to  another  river,  which 
empties  itfelf  into  that  bay,  at  a  fort  belonging  vj 
the  company.  It  was  by  this  paifage  that  a  parry  of 
French  from  Michillimackinac  invaded  the  fettle  - 
ments  of  that  fociety  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne. 
Having  taken  and  deftroyed  their  forts,  they  brought 
the  cannon  which  they  found  in  them  to  the  fortrefs 
from  whence  they  had  ifTued;  thefe  were  fmall  brafs 
pieces,  and  remain  there  to  this  preient  time ;  hav- 
ing, through  the  ufual  revolutions  of  fortune,  re- 
turned to  the  pofTefTion  of  their  former  mailers. 

Not  far  from  the  Nipegon  is  a  fmall  river,  that 
jure  before  it  enters  the  lake,  has  a  perpendicular  fall 
from  the  top  of  a  mountain,  of  more  than  fix  hun- 
dred feet.  Being  very  narrow,  it  appears  at  a  dif- 
tance  like  a  white  garter  fufpended  in  the  air. 

A  few  Indians  inhabit  round  the  eaftern  borders 
of  this  lake,  fuppofed  to  be  the  remains  of  the  Al- 
gonkins,  who  formerly  porTefTed  this  country,  but 
who  have  been  nearly  extirpated  by  the  Iroquois  of 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  87 

Canada.  Lake  Superior  has  near  forty  rivers  tha: 
fall  into  it,  fome  of  which  are  of  confiderabh  fize. 
On  the  fouth  Mt  of  it  is  a  remarkable  point  or  cape, 
of  about  fixty  miles  in  length,  called  Point  Chego- 
megan.  It  might  as  properly  be  termed  a  peninfula, 
as  it  is  nearly  leparated  from  the  continent,  on  the 
eaft  fide,  by  a  narrow  bay  that  extends  from  eaft  to 
wefc.  Canoes  have  but  a  fhort  portage  acrofs  the 
ifthmus,  whereas  if  they  coaft  it  round,  the  voyage 
is  more  than  an  hundred  miles. 

About  that  diftance  to  the  weft  of  the  cape  juft 
defcribed,  a  confiderable  river  falls  into  the  lake, 
the  head  of  which  is  compofed  of  a  great  allemblage 
of  fmall  ftreams.  This  river  is  remarkable  for  the 
abundance  of  virgin  copper  that  is  found  on  and  near 
its  banks.  A  metal  which  is  met  with  alio  in  feveral 
other  places  on  this  coaft.  I  obferved  that  many  of 
the  fmall  iflands,  particularly  thofe  on  the  eaftern 
fhores,  were  covered  with  copper  ore.  They  ap- 
peared like  beds  of  copperas^  of  which  many  tons 
lay  in  a  fmall  fpace. 

A  company  of  adventurers  from  England  began, 
foon  after  the  conqueft  of  Canada,  to  bring  away 
fome  of  this  metal,  but  the  diftracled  fituation  of 
affairs  in  America  has  obliged  them  to  relinquish 
their  fcheme.  It  might  in  future  times  be  made  a 
very  advantageous  trade,  as  the  metal,  which  colls 
nothing  on  the  fpot,  and  requires  but  little  expence 
to  get  it  on  board,  could  be  conveyed  in  boats  or 
canoes  through  the  Falls  of  St.  Marie,  to  the  Ifle  of 
St.  Jofeph,  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  Straits 
near  the  entrance  into  Lake  Huron;  from  thence  it 
might  be  put  on  board  larger  veffels,  and  in  them 
tranfported  acrofs  that  lake  to  the  Falls  of  Niagaras 
there  being  carried  by  land  acrofs  the  Portage,  it 
might  be  conveyed  without  much  more  obftru&ion 


88  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

to  Quebec.  The  cheapnefs  and  eafe  with  which 
any  quantity  of  it  may  be  procured,  will  make  up 
for  the  length  of  way  that  is  neceffary  to  tranfport  it 
before  it  reaches  the  fea  coaft,  and  enable  the  pro- 
prietors to  fend  it  to  foreign  markets  on  as  good 
terms  as  it  can  be  exported  from  other  countries. 

Lake  Superior  abounds  with  a  variety  of  fifh,  the 
principal  and  befl  are  the  trout  and  fturgeon,  which 
may  be  caught  at  almofl  any  feafon  in  the  greatefl 
abundance.  The  trouts  in  general  weigh  about 
twelve  pounds,  but  fome  are  caught  that  exceed  fifty. 
Befides  thefe,  a  fpecies  of  white  rifh  is  taken  in  great 
quantities  here,  that  refemble  a  fhad  in  their  fhape, 
but  they  are  rather  thicker,  and  lefs  boney;  they 
weigh  about  four  pounds  each,  and  are  of  a  delicious 
tafte.  The  beft  way  of  catching  theie  fifh  is  with  a 
net;  but  the  trout  might  be  taken  at  all  times  with 
the  hook.  There  are  likewife  many  forts  of  fmaller 
fifh  in  great  plenty  here,  and  which  may  be  taken 
with  eafe  ■,  among  thefe  is  a  fort  refembling  a  herring, 
that  are  generally  made  ufe  of  as  a  bait  for  the  trout. 
Very  fmall  crabs,  not  larger  than  half  a  crown 
piece,  are  found  both  in  this  and  Lake  Michigan. 

This  Lake  is  as  much  affected  by  ftorms  as  the 
Atlantic  Ocean ;  the  waves  run  as  high,  and  are 
equally  as  dangerous  to  mips.  It  difcharges  its  wa- 
ters from  the  fouth-eaft  corner,  through  the  Straits 
of  St.  Marie.  At  the  upper  end  of  thefe  Straits 
irands  a  fort  that  receives  its  name  from  them,  com- 
manded by  Monf.  Cadot,  a  French  Canadian,  who 
being  proprietor  of  the  foil,  is  ftill  permitted  to 
keep  pofTeflion  of  it.  Near  this  fort  is  a  very  ftrong 
rapid,  againft  which,  though  it  is  impoftible  for 
canoes  to  afcend,  yet  v/hen  conducted  by  careful  pi- 
lots, they  might  pafs  down  without  danger. 


GARVER's     TRAVELS.  89 

Though  Lake  Superior,  as  I  have  before  obferved, 
is  fupplieci  by  near  forty  rivers,  many  of  which  are 
eoniiderable  ones  ;  yec  ic  does  not  appear  that  one 
tenth  part  of  the  waters  which  are  conveyed  into  it 
by  thefe  rivers,  are  carried  off  at  this  evacuation. 
How  fuch  a  fuperabundance  of  waters  can  be  difpo- 
fed  of,  as  it  mud  certainly  be  by  fome  means  or 
other,  without  which  the  circumference  of  the  lake 
. .  would  be  continually  enlarging,  I  know  not :  that  it 
does  not  empty  itielf,  as  the  Mediterranean  fea  is 
fuppofcd  to  do,  by  an  under  current,  which  per- 
petually counteracts  that  near  the  furface,  is  cer- 
tain ;  for  the  itream  which  falls  over  the  rock  is  no- 
more  than  five  or  fix  feet  in  depth,  and  the  whole  of 
it  pailes  on  through  the  Straits  into  the  adjacent 
lake  -,  nor  is  it  probable  that  fo  great  a  quantity  can 
be  abforbed  by  exhalations  -,  confequentiy  they  mult 
find  a  paifage  through  fome  fubterranean  cavities, 
deep,  unfathomable,  and  never  to  be  explored. 

The  Falls  of  St.  Marie  do  not  defcend  perpendi- 
cularly as  thofe  of  Niagara  or  St.  Anthony  do,  but 
confiit  of  a  rapid  which  continues  near  three  quar- 
ters of  a  mile,  over  which  canoes  well  piloted  might 
pafs. 

At  the  bottom  of  thefe  Falls,  Nature  has  formed 
a  mofl  commodious  ftation  for  catching  the  hTh 
which  are  to  be  found  there  in  immenfe  quantities. 
Perfons  ftanding  on  the  rocks  that  lie  adjacent  to  it, 
may  take  with  dipping  nets,  about  the  months  of 
September  and  October,  the  white  fifh  before  men- 
tioned i  at  that  feafon,  together  with  feveral  other 
fpecies,  they  crowd  up  to  this  ipo:  in  fuch  amazing 
ilioals,  that  enough  may  be  taken  to  fupply,  when 
properly  cured,  thoufands  of  inhabitants  throughout 
the  year. 

M 


9o  CARVER's     TRAVELS. 

The   Straits   of  St.  Marie  are  about  forty  miles 
long,  bearing  fouth-eaft,  but  varying  much  in  their 
atha     The  current  between  the  Falls  and  Lake 
Hur  -t  Co  rapid  as  might  be  expected,  nor  do 

they  prevent  the  navigation  oFUiips  of  burden  as  far 
up  as  the  ifland  of  St.  Jofcph. 

It  has  been  obferved  by  travellers  that  the  entrance 
into  Lake  Superior,  from  thefe  Straits,  affords  one 
of"  the  moft  pleating  profpecls  in  the  world.  The 
place  in  which  this  might  be  viewed  to  the  greateft 
advantage,  is  juft  at  the  opening  of  the  lake,  from 
whence  may  be  feen  on  the  left,  many  beautiful  lit- 
tle iflands  that  extend  a  considerable  way  before 
you  j  and  on  the  right,  an  agreeable  fucceflion  of 
fmall  points  of  land,  that  project  a  little  way  into  the 
water,  and  contribute,  with  the  iflands,  to  render 
this  delightful  bafon  (as  it  might  be  termed)  calm 
and  fecure  from  the  ravages  of  thofe  tempeftuous 
winds  by  which  the  adjoining  lake  is  frequently 
troubled. 

Lake  Huron,  into  which  you  now  enter  from  the 
Straits  of  St.  Marie,  is  the  next  in  magnitude  to 
Lake  Superior.  It  lies  between  forty  two- and  forty- 
fix  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  feventy-nine  and 
eighty-five  degrees  of  weft  longitude.  Its  fhape  is 
nearly  triangular  and  its  circumference  about  one 
thoufand  miles. 

On  the  north  fide  of  it  lies  an  ifland  that  is  re- 
markable for  being  near  an  hundred  miles  in  length, 
and  no  more  than  eight  miles  broad.  This  ifland  is 
known  by  the  name  of  Manataulin,  which  fignifies 
a  Place  of  Spirits,  and  is  confidered  by  the  Indians 
as   facred  a^  thole  already  mentioned  in  Lake  Su- 


CARVER'S     T  R  A  V  ELS.  g, 

About  the  middle  of  the  fouth-weft  fide  of  this 
lake,  is  Saganaum  Bay.  The  capes  that  feparate 
this  bay  from  the  lake,  are  eighteen  miles  diftant 
from  each  other;  near  the  middle  of  the  intermediate 
fpace  frauds  two  iflands,  which  greatly  tend  to  faci- 
litate the  paffage  of  canoes  and  fmall  veffels,  by 
affording  them  fhelter,  as  without  this  fecurity  it 
would  not  be  prudent  to  venture  aero  is  lb  wide  a 
fea  ;  and  the  coaiiing  round  the  bay  would  make  the 
voyage  long  and  tedious.  This  bay  is  about  eighty 
miles  in  length  and  in  general  about  eighteen  or  twen- 
ty miles  broad. 

Nearly  half  way  between  Saganaum  Bay  and  the 
north-weft  corner  of  the  Lake,  lies  another,  which 
is  termed  Thunder  Bay.  The  Indians,  who  have 
frequented  thefe  parts  from  time  immemorial,  and 
every  European  traveller  that  had  palled  through  it, 
have  unanimoufly  agreed  to  call  it  by  this  name,  on 
account  of  the  continual  thunder  they  have  always 
obferved  here.  The  bay  is  about  nine  miles  broad, 
and  the  fame  in  length,  and  whilrt  I  was  paffi.ig  over 
it,  which  took  me  up  near  twenty-four  hours,  it 
thundered  and  lightened  during  the  greated  part  of 
the  time  to  an  exceflive  degree. 

There  appeared  to  be  no  vifible  reafon  for  this, 
that  I  could  difcover,  nor  is  the  country  in  general 
iubject  to  thunder  ;  the  hills  that  Hood  around  were 
not  of  a  remarkable  height,  neither  did  the  external 
parts  of  them  feem  to  be  covered  with  any  fulphurous 
fubftance.  But  as  this  phenomenon  mult  originate 
from  fome  natural  caufe,  I  conjecture  that  the  mores 
of  the  bay,  or  the  adjacent  mountains  are  either  im- 
pregnated with  an  uncommon  quantity  of  fulphurous 
matter,  or  contain  fome  metal  or  mineral  apt  to  at- 
tract in  a  great  degree,  the  electrical  particles  that 
hourly   borne  over  them   by  the  paffant  clouds, 


9z  CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 

But  the  folution  of  thin,  and  i:hofe  other  philcfophicai 
remarks  which  cafually  occur  throughout  thefe  pages, 
I  leave  to  the  difcuffion  of  abler  heads. 

The  fifli  in  Lake  Huron  are  much  the  fame  as 
thole  in  Lake  Superior.  Some  of  the  land  on  its 
s  is  very  fertile,  and  proper  for  cultivation, 
but  in  other  parts  it  is  fandy  and  barren.  The  pro- 
montory that  kparates  this  lake  from  Lake  Michi- 
gan, is  eompofed  of  a  vail  plain,  upwards  of  one 
hundred  miles  long,  but  varying  in  its  breadth, 
being  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  broad.  This  tract, 
as  I  have  before  obferved,  is  divided  into  almoft  an 
equal  portion  between  the  Ottawaw  and  Chipeway 
Indians*  At  the  north  eaft  corner  this  lake  has  a 
communication  with  Lake  Michigan,  by  the  Straits 
of  Michillimackinac  already  defenbed. 

I  had  like  to  have  omitted  a  very  extraordinary 
circumftance,  relative  to  thefe  Straits.  According 
to  observation,  made  by  the  French,  whilft  they 
were  in  poiTeiTion  of  the  fort;  although  there  is  no 
diurnal  Rood  or  ebb  to  be  perceived  in  thefe  waters, 
yet,  from  an  exact  attention  to  their  ftate,  a  periodi- 
cal alteration  in  them  has  been  difcovered,  It  was 
pbferved  that  they  arofe  by  gradual,  but  almoft  im- 
perceptible degtcts  till  they  had  reached  the  height 
of  about  three  feet.  This  was  accompliihed  in  fe- 
ven  years  and  a  half;  and  in  the  fame  fpace  they  as 
eafed,  till  they  had  reached  their  former 
ation;  fa  that  in  fifteen  years  they  had  completed 
this  inexplicable  revolt:;' 

:  the  time  I  was  there,  the  truth  of  thefe  obfer- 
yaribns  could  not  be  confirmed  by  the  Engliih,  as 
they  had  then  been  only  a  few  years  in  |  n  of 

the  fort;   but  they  ail  agreed  that  fome  alteration  in 
the  limits  of  the   Straits  was  apparent.     All  thefe 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  93 

lakes  are  fo  affected  by  the  winds,  as  fometimes  to 
have  the  appearance  of  a  tide,  according  as  they 
happen  to  blows  buc  this  is  only  temporary  and  par- 
tial. 

A  great  number  of  the  Chipeway  Indians  live 
fcattered  around  this  lake,  particularly  near  Saga- 
naum  Bay.  On  its  banks  are  found  an  amazing 
quantity  of  the  fand  cherries,  and  in  the  adjacent 
country  nearly  the  fame  fruit,  as  thofe  that  grow 
abcut  the  other  lakes.  • 

i  From  the  Falls  of  St.  Marie  I  leifurely  proceeded 
back  to  Michillimackinac,  and  arrived  there  the 
beginning  of  November  1767,  having  been  four- 
teen months  on  this  extenfive  tour,  travelled  near 
four  thoufand  miles,  and  vifited  twelve  nations  of 
Indians  lying  to  the  well  and  north  of  this  place. 
The  winter  fetting  in  foon  after  my  arrival,  I  was 
obliged  to  tarry  there  till  June  following,  the  navi- 
gation over  Lake  Huron  for  large  vefTels  not  being 
open,  on  account  of  the  ice,  till  that  time.  Meet- 
ing here  with  fociable  company,  I  parTed  thefe 
months  very  agreeably,  and  without  finding  the 
hours  tedious. 

One  of  my  chief  amufements  was  that  of  fifhing 
for  trouts.  Though  the  Straits  were  covered  with 
ice,  we  found  means  to  make  holes  through  it,  and 
letting  down  fcrong  lines  of  fifteen  yards  in  length, 
to  which  were  fixed  three  or  four  hooks  baited  with 
the  fmall  fifn  before  defcribed,  we  frequently  caught 
two  at  a  time  of  forty  pounds  weight  each;  but  the 
common  fize  is  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds.  Thefe 
are  mofl  delicious  food.  The  method  of  preferving 
thtm  during  the  three  months  the  winter  generally 
Jafts,  is  by  hanging  them  up  in  the  air;  and  in  one 


94  C  A  R  V  E  R  '  s     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

night  they  will  be  frozen  fo  hard  chat  they  will  keep 
as  well  as  if  they  were  cured  with  fait, 

I  have  only  pointed  out  in  the  plan  cf  my  travels 
the  circuit  I  made  from  my  leaving  Michiliimacki- 
nac  till  I  arrived  again  at  thafrfort.  Thoie  countries 
that  lie  nearer  to  the  colonies  have  been  fo  often  and 
fo  minutely  defcribed,  that  any  further  account 
of  them  would  be  ufelefs.  I  ihall  therefore  only 
give  my  readers  in  the  remainder  of  my  journal,  as 
I  at  firft  propofed,  a  description  of  the  other  great 
lakes  of  Canada,  many  of  which  J  have  navigated 
over,  and  relate  at  the  fame  time  a  few  particular 
incidents  that  I  truft  will  not  be  found  inapplicable 
or  unentertaining. 

In  June  1760  I  left  Michillimackinac,  and  re- 
turned in  the  Gladwyn  Schooner,  a  veiTel  of  about 
eighty  tons  burthen,  over  Lake  Huron  to  Lake  St. 
Claire,  where  we  left  the  mip,  and  proceeded  in 
beets  to  Detroit.  This  lake  is  about  ninety  miles 
in  circumference,  and  by  the  way  of  Huron  River, 
which  runs  from  the  fouth  corner  of  Lake  Huron, 
receives  the  waters  of  the  three  great  lakes,  Supe- 
rior, Michigan,  and  Huron.  Its  form  is  rather 
round,  and  in  fome  places  it  is  deep  enough  for  the 
navigation  of  large  vefleis,  but  towards  the  middle 
cf  it  there  is  a  bar  of  kind,  which  prevents  thofe  that 
are  loaded  from  palling  over  it.  Such  as  are  in  bal- 
lad only  may  find  water  Sufficient  to  carry  them 
quite  through;  the  cargoes,  however,  offuchasare 
freighted  mult  be  taken  oitf,  and  after  being  trans- 
ported acrofs  the  bar  in  boa:s,  re-fhipped  again. 

The  river  that  runs  from  Lake  St.  Claire  to  Lake 
Erie  (or  rather  the  Strait,  for  thus  it  might  be 
termed  from  its  name)  is  called  Detroit,  which  is  in 
French,  the  Strait.     It  runs  nearly  fbuth,  has  a  s 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  95 

tie  current,  and  depth  of  water  fuSicient  for  fhips 
of  confiderable  btirtneni  The  town  of  Detroit  is 
fituated  on  the  weftern  banks  of  this  river,  about 
nine  miles  below  Lake  St.  Claire. 

Aimoft  oppcf:te  on  the  eaftern  more,  is  the  vil- 
lage of  the  ancient  Kurons:  a  tribe  of  Indians  which 
have  been  treated  of  by  fb  many  writers,  that  ad- 
hering to  the  reftrictions  I  have  laid  myfelf  under 
of  only  defcribing  places  and  people  little  known, 
or  incidents  ttiat  have  pafied  unnoticed  by  others, 
I  fhall  omit  giving  a  defcription  of  them.  A 
rtinTioriary  of  the  order  of  Carthufian  Friars,  by 
permiiTion  of  the  bifhop  of  Canada,  refides  among 
them. 

The  banks  of  the  River  Detroit,  both  above  and 
below  thefe  towns,  are  covered  with  fettlements 
that  extend  more  than  twenty  miles;  the  country- 
being  exceedingly  fruitful,  and  proper  for  the  cul- 
tivation of  wheat,  Indian  corn,  oats,  and  peas. 
It  has  alfo  many  fpots  of  fine  pafturage;  but  as  the 
inhabitants,  who  are  chiefly  French  that  fubmitted 
to  the  EngliiTi  government,  after  the  conquefl  of. 
thefe  parts  by  General  l^mherft,  are  more  attenti ve- 
to the  Indian  trade  than  to  farming,  it  is  but  badly 
cultivated. 

The  town  of  Detroit  contains  upwards  of  one 
hundred  houfes.  The  flreets  are  fomewhat  re<m!ai% 
and  have  a  range  cf  very  convenient  and  handfome 
barracks,  with  a  fpacious  parade  at  the  ibuth  end. 
On  the  weft  fide  lies  the  king's  garden,  belonging 
to  the  governor,  which  is  very  well  laid  out,  and 
kept  in  good  order.  The  fortifications  of  the  town 
confift  of  a  ftrong  frockade,  made  of  round  piles, 
fixed  firmly  in  the  ground,  and  lined  with  paii- 
fades.     Thefe   are  defended  bv  feme  fmall  baftions. 


?5  CARVER'S     TRAVEL 

on  which  are  mounted  a  few  indifferent  cannon  o; 
an  inconfidcrable  iize,  juft  fufncient  for  its  defence 
againft  the  Indians,  or  an  enemy  not  provided  with 
artillery. 

The  garrifon,  in  time  of  peace,  confifts  of  two 
hundred  men,  commanded  by  a  held  officer,  who 
acts  as  chief  magistrate  under  tne  governor  of  Ca- 
nada. Mr.  Turnbull,  captain  of  tne  6©th  regiment, 
of  Royal  Americans,  was  commandant  when  I  hap- 
pened to  be  there.  This  gentleman  was  clefervediy 
eiteemed  and  refpected,  both  by  the  inhabitants  and 
traders,  for  the  propriety  of  his  conduce;  and  I  am 
happy  to  have  an  opportunity  of  thus  publicly  mak- 
ing my  acknowledgments  to  him  for  the  civilities  I 
received  from  him  during  my  flay. 

Indie  year  1762,  in  the  month  of  July,  it  rained 
on  this  town  and  the  parts  adjacent,  a  fulphureous 
water  of  the  colour  and  coniiftence  of  ink;  fome  of 
which  being  collected  into  bottles^  and  wrote  with, 
appeared  perfectly  intelligible  on  the  paper,  and 
anfwered  every  purpofe  of  that  ufeful  liquid.  Soon 
after,  the  Indian  wars  already  fpoken  cf,  broke  out 
in  thefe  parts.  I  mean  not  to  fay  that  this  incident 
Yvas' ominous  of  them,  notwithstanding  it  is  well 
known  that  innumerable  well  attetted  inftances  of 
extraordinary  phenomena  happening  before  extra- 
ordinary events,  have  been  recorded  in  almoft  every 
age  by  hiiterfens  of  veracity ;  I  only  relate  the  cir- 
curnftance  as  a  fact,  of  which  I  was  informed 
many  perfons  of  undoubted  probity,  and  leave  my 

j  to  draw  their  own 
I  ns  from  it. 

P'  horn  the   party  that  furprifed 

FortMichillirnackinaG?  as  related  in  the  former  part 

nterpriSi  f  or 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  97 

head-warrior  of  the  Miamies.  During  the  late  war 
between  the  Engliih  and  the  French,  he  had  been 
a  (teady  friend  to  the  latter,  and  continued  his  inve- 
teracy to  the  former,  even  after  peace  had  been 
concluded  between  thefe  two  nations.  Unwilling 
to  put  an  end  to  the  depredations  he  had  h^cn  fo 
long  engaged  in,  he  collected  an  army  of  confede- 
rate Indians,  confiding  of  the  nations  before  enu- 
merated, with  an  intention  to  renew  the  war.  How- 
ever, inflead  of  openly  attacking  the  Englifh  fettle  - 
ments,  he  laid  a  fcheme  for  taking  by  furprife  thofe 
forts  on  the  extremities  which  they  had  lately  gained 
poffeflion  of. 

How  well  the  party  he  detached  to  take  Fort 
Michillimackinac  fucceeded,  the  reader  already 
kaows.  To  get  into  his  hands  Detroit,  a  place  of 
greater  confequence,  and  much  better  guarded,  re- 
quired greater  relblution,  and  more  confummate 
art.  He  of  courfe  took  the  management  of  this 
expedition  on  himfelf,  and  drew  near  it  with  the 
principal  body  of  his  troops.  He  was,  however, 
prevented  from  carrying  his  defigns  into  execution, 
by  an  apparently  trivial  and  unforefeen  circumftance. 
On  fuch  does  the  fate  of  mighty  empires  frequently 
depend  ! 

The  town  of  Detroit,  when  Pontiac  formed  his 
plan,  was  garrifoned  by  about  three  hundred  men,* 
commanded  by  Major  Gladwyn,  a  gallant  officer.- 
As  at  that  time  every  appearance  of  war  was  at  an 
end,  and  the  Indians  feemed  to  be  on  a  friendly  foot- 
ing, Pontiac  approached  the  Fort,  without  exciting 
any  fufpicions  in  the  bread  of  the  governor  or  the 
inhabitants...  He  encamped  at  a  little  diftance  from 
it,  and  fent  to  let  the  commandant  know  that  he  was 
come  to  trade  j    and  being  defirous  of  brightening 

N 


98  C  A  R  \    L  R  %  a     T  RAVELS. 

the  chain  of  peace  between  the  Englifh  and  his  na- 
tion, deiired  that  he  and  his  chiefs  might  be  admit- 
ted to  hold  a  council  with  him.  The  governor  ftill 
unfufpicicus,  and  not  in  die  kail  doubting  the  fin- 
eerity  of  the  Indians,  granted  their  general's  requeft, 
and  fixed  on  the  next  morning  for  their  reception. 

The  evening  of  that  day,  an  Indian  woman  who 
bad  been  employed  by  Major  Gladwyn,  to  make 
him  a  pair  of  Indian  fhoes,  out  of  curious  elk-fkin, 
brought  them  home.  The  Major  was  fo  pleafed 
with  them,  that,  intending  thefe  as  a  prefent  for  a 
friend,  he  ordered  her  to  take  the  remainder  back, 
and  make  it  into  others  for  himfelf.  He  then  di- 
rected his  fervant  to  pay  her  for  thofe  me  had  done, 
and  difmifTed  her.  The  woman  went  to  the  door 
that  led  to  the  fcreet,  but  no  further;  fhe  there  loi- 
tered about  as  if  fhe  had  not  rimmed  the  bufinefs  on 
which  fac  came.  A  fervant  at  length  obfervedher, 
and  afked  her  why  fhe  ftaid  there ;  fhe  gave  him, 
however,  no  anfwer. 

Some  fhort  time  after,  the  governor  himfelf  faw 
her ;  and  enquired  of  his  fervant  what  occafioned  her 
flay.  Not  being  able  te  get  a  fatisfactory  anfwer, 
he  ordered  the  woman  to  be  called  in.  When  fhe 
came  into  his  prefence  he  dcfired  to  know  what  was 
the  reafon  of  her  loitering-  about,  and  not  ha(tenin£ 
home  before  the  gates  were  fhut,  that  (he  might 
complete  in  due  time  the  work  he  had  given  her 
to  do.  She  toid  him,  after  much  hefitation,  that  as 
he  had' always  behaved  with  great  goodnefs  towards 
her,  fhe  was  unwilling  to  take  away  the  remainder 
of  the  fkin,  becaufe  he  put  fo  great  a  value  upon  it; 
and  yet  had  not  been  able  to  prevail  upon  herfelf  to 
tell  him  fo.  Ke  then  afked  her,  why  fhe  was  more 
reluctant  to  do  fo  now,  than  fhe  had  been  when  fhe 
made  the  former  pair.     With  encreafed   reluctance 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


99 


fiie  anfwered,  thatfhe  never  mould  be  able  to  bring 
them  back. 

His  curiofuy  being  now  excited,  he  infilled  on 
her  difciofing  to  him  the  fecret  that  ftemed  to  be 
flruggling  in  her  boibm  for  utterance.  At  h(>,  on 
receiving  a  promife  that  the  intelligence  fhe  was 
about  to  give  him  mould  not  turn  to  her  prejudice., 
and  that  if  it  appeared  to  be  beneficial,  flie  ihould  be 
rewarded  for  it,  fhe  informed  him,  that  at  the  coun- 
cil to  be  held  with  the  Indians  the  following  day, 
Pontiac  and  his  chiefs  intended  to  murder  him;  and, 
after  having  maffacred  the  garrifon  and  inhabitants, 
to  plunder  the  town.  That  for  this  purpofe  all  the 
chiefs  who  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  council-room, 
had  cut  their  gunsfhort,  fo  that  they  could  conceal 
them  under  their  blankets;  with  which,  at  a  fignal 
given  by  their. general,  on  delivering  the  belt,  they 
were  all  to  rife  up?  and  inftantly  to  fire  on  him  and 
his  attendants.  Having  effected  this,  they  were, 
immediately  to  rufh  into  the  town,  where  they  would 
find  thcmfelves  fupported  by  a  great  number  of  their 
warriors,  that  were  to  come  into  it  during  the  fitting 
of  the  council,  under  pretence  of  trading,  but  pri- 
vately armed  in  the  fame  manner.  Having  gained 
from  the  women  every  neceftary  particular  relative 
to  the  plot,  and  alfo  of  the  means  by  which  flie  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  them,  he  difmiifed  her  with 
injunctions  of  fecrecy,  and  a  promife  of  fulfilling  on 
his  part  with  punctuality,  the  engagements  he  had 
entered  into. 

The  intelligence  the  governor  had  juft  received^ 
gave  him  great  uneafinefs;  and  he  immediately  con  - 
Halted  the  officer  who  was  not  next  to  him  in  com* 
mand,  on  the  fubjecr.  But  that  gentleman  confi- 
dering  the  information  as  a  ftory  invented  for  fome 
artful  purpofes,  advifed  him  to  pay  no  attention  to 


JOO 


CARVER'S    TRAVEL  S. 


it.  This  conclufion,  however,  had  happily  no 
weight  with  him.  He  thought  it  prudent  to  conclude 
it  to  be  true,  till  he  was  convinced  that  it  was  not 
fo;  and  therefore,  without  revealing  his  fufpicions 
to  any  other  perfon,  he  took  every  needful  precau- 
tion that  the  time  would  admit  of.  He  walked  round 
the  fort  during  the  whole  night,  and  law  himfelf 
that  every  centinel  w?ws  on  duty,  and  every  weapon 
of  defence  in  proper  order. 

As  we  traverfed  the  ramparts,  which  lay  nearefl 
to  the  Indian  camp,  he  heard  them  in  high  feftivity, 
and,  little  imagining  that  their  plot  was  difcovered, 
probably  pleafing  themfelves  with  the  anticipation 
of  their  fuccefs.  As  foon  as  the  morning  dawned, 
he  ordered  all  the  garrifon  under  arms  -,  and  then 
imparting  his  apprehenfions  to  a  few  of  the  principal 
officers,  gave  themfuch  directions  as  he  thought  ne- 
ceflary.  At  the  lame  time  he  fent  round  to  all  the 
traders,  to  inform  them,  that  as  it  was  expected  a 
great  number  of  Indians  would  enter  the  town  that 
day,  who  might  be  inclined  to  plunder,  he  defired 
they  would  have  their  arms  ready,  and  repel  every 
attempt  of  that  kind. 

About  ten  o'clock,  Pontiac  and  his  chiefs  arrived; 
and  were  conducted  to  the  council-chamber,  where 
the  governor  and  his  principal  officers,  each  with 
piftols  in  their  belts,  awaited  his  arrival.  As  the 
Indians  palled  on,  they  could  not  help  obferving 
that  a  greater  number  of  troops  than  ufual  were 
drawn  up  on  the  parade,  or  marching  about.  No 
fooner  were  they  entered,  and  feated  on  the  fkins 
prepared  for  them,  than  Pontiac  afked  the  governor 
on  what  occafion  his  young  men,  meaning  the  fol- 
diers,  were  thus  drawn  up,  and  parading  the  ftreets. 
He  received  foranfwer,  that  it  was  only  intended  to 
keep  them  perfect  in  their  exercife. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  i©i 

The  Indian  chief-warrior  now  began  his  fpeech, 
which  contained  the  ftrongeft  profeffions  of  friendfhip 
and  good-will  towards  the  Englifh;  and  when  he 
came  to  the  delivery  of  the  belt  of  wampum,  the 
particular  mode  of  which,  according  to  the  woman's 
information,  was  to  be  the  fignal  for  his  chiefs  to 
fire,  the  governor  and  all  his  attendants  drew  their 
fwords  halfway  out  of  their  fcabbards;  and  the  fol- 
diers  at  the  fame  inftant  made  a  clattering  with  their 
arms  before  the  doors,  which  had  been  purpofely 
left  open.  Pontiac,  though  one  of  the  boldeft  of 
men,  immediately  turned  pale,  and  trembled  ■,  and 
inftead  of  giving  the  belt  in  the  manner  propofed, 
delivered  it  according  to  the  ufual  way.  His  chiefs, 
who  had  impatiently  expected  the  fignal,  looked  at 
each  other  with  aitonifhment,  but  continued  quiet, 
waiting  the  refult. 

The  governor  in  his  turn  made  a  fpeech;  but  in- 
ftead of  thanking  the  great  warrior  for  the  profeflions 
of  friendfhip  he  had  juft  uttered,  he  accufed  him  of 
being  a  traitor,  He  told  him  that  the  Englifh,  who 
knew  every  thing,  were  convinced  of  his  treachery 
and  villainous  defigns;  and  as  a  proof  that  they  were 
well  acquainted  with  his  moft  fecret  thoughts  and 
intentions,  he  Hepped  towards  the  Indian  chief  that 
fat  neareft  to  him,  and  drawing  afide  his  blanket, 
difcovered  the  fhortened  firelock.  This  entirely 
difconcerted  the  Indians,  and  frustrated  their  de- 
fign. 

He  then  continued  to  tell  them,  that  as  he  had 
given  his  word  at  the  time  they  defired  an  audience, 
that  their  perfons  fhould  be  fafe,  he  would  hold  his 
promife  inviolable,  though  they  fo  little  defer  ved  it. 
However,  he  advifed  them  to  make  the  beft  of 
their  way  out  of  the  fort,  left  his  young  men  on  being 


I02 


C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVELS. 


acquainted  with  their  treacherous  purpofes,  fhould 
cut  every  one  of  them  to  pieces. 

Pontiac  endeavoured  to  contradict  the  accufation, 
and  to  make  excufes  for  his  fufpicious  conduct;  but 
the  governor,  fatisfied  of  the  falfityofhis  protec- 
tion, would  not  liften  to  him.  The  Indians  imme- 
diately left  the  fort,  but  inftead  of  being  fenlible  of 
the  governor's  generous  behaviour,  they  threw  off 
the  mafk,  and  the  next  day  made  a  reguLr  attack 
upon  it. 

Major  Gladwyn  has  not  efcaped  cenfure  for  this 
miftaken  lenity;  for  probably  had  he  kept  a  few  of 
the  principal  chiefs  prifoners,  whilft  he  had  them  in 
his  power,  he  might  have  been  able  to  have  brought 
the  whole  confederacy  to  terms,  and  have  prevented 
a  war.  But  he  atoned  for  this  overfight,  by  the  gal- 
lant defence  he  made  for  more  than  a  year,  amidft  a 
variety  of  difcouragements. 

During  that  period  fome  very  fmart  fkirmifhes 
happened  between  the  befiegers  and  the  garrifon,  of 
which  the  following  was  the  principal  and  moft 
bloody  :  Captain  Delzel,  a  brave  officer,  prevailed 
on  the  governor  to  give  him  the  command  of  about 
two  hundred  men,  and  to  permit  him  to  attack  the 
enemy's  camp.  This  being  complied  with,  he  fallicd 
from  the  town  before  day-break ;  but  Pontiac,  re- 
ceiving from  fome  of  his  fwift-footed  warriors,  who 
were  conftantly  employed  in  watching  the  motion  of 
the  garrifon,  timely  intelligence  of  their  defign,  Jie 
collected  together  the  choicer!:  of  his  troops,  and  met 
the  detachment  at  fome  diftance  from  his  camp, 
near  a  place  fince  called  Bloody-Bridge. 

As  the  Indians  were  vaftly  fuperior  in  numbers  to 
captain  Delzel's  party,  he  was  foon  over-powered 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  103 

and  driven  back.  Being  now  nearly  furrounded,  he 
made  a  vigorous  effort  to  regain  the  bridge  he  had 
juft  croffed,  by  which  alone  he  could  find  a  retreat; 
but  in  doing  this  he  loft  his  life,  and  many  of  his  men 
fell  with  him.  However,  major  Rogers,  the  fccond 
in  command^afTifted  by  Lieutenant  Breham,  found 
means  to  draw  off  the  mattered  remains  of  their  lit- 
tle army,  and  conducted  them  into  the  fort. 

Thus  confiderably  reduced,  it  was  with  difficulty 
the  major  could  defend  the  town;  notwithftand- 
ing  which,  he  held  out  againft  the  Indians  till 
he  was  relieved,  as  after  this  they  made  but  few 
attacks  on  the  place,  and  only  continued  to  block- 
ade it. 

The  Gladwyn  fchooner  (that  in  which  I  after- 
wards took  my  paffage  from  Michillimackinac  to 
Detroit,  and  which  I  fince  learn  was  loft  with  all  her 
crew,  on  Lake  Erie,  through  the  obftinacy  of  the 
commander,  who  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to 
take  in  fufficient  ballaft)  arrived  about  this  time, 
near  the  town,  with  a  reinforcement,  and  neceffary 
fupplies.  But  before  this  veffel  could  reach  the 
place  of  its  deftination,  it  was  mod  vigoroufly  at- 
tacked by  a  detachment  from  Pontiac's  army.  The 
Indians  furrounded  it  in  their  canoes,  and  made  great 
havoc  among  the  crew. 

At  length  the  captain  of  the  fchooner,  with  a 
confiderable  number  of  his  men  being  killed,  and 
the  favages  beginning  to  .climb  up  the  fides  from 
every  quarter,  the  lieutenant  (M.  Jacobs,  who  af- 
terwards commanded,  and  was  loft  in  it)  being  de- 
termined that  the  (lores  mould  not  fall  into  the  ene- 
my's hands,  and  feeing  no  other  alternative,  order- 
ed the  gunner  to  fet  fire  to  the  powder-room,  and 
blow  the  fhip  up.     This  order  was  on  the  point  of 


IO+  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

being  executed,  when  a  chief  of  the  Hurons,  who 
understood  the  Englifh  lauguage,  gave  out  to  his 
friends  the  intention  of  the  commander.  On  re- 
cieving  this  intelligence,  the  Indians  hurried  down 
the  fide  of  the  fhip  with  the  greateft  precipitation, 
and  got  as  far  from  it  as  poffibki  whilft  the  com- 
mander immediately  took  advantage  of  their  con- 
ilernation,  and  arrived  without  any  further  obstruc- 
tion at  the  town. 

This  feafonable  fupply  gave  the  garrifon  frefh 
fpirits  i  and  Pontiac  being  now  convinced  that  it 
would  not  be  in  his  power  to  reduce  the  place,  pro- 
pofed  an  accommodation  -,  the  governor  wifhed  as 
much  to  get  rid  of  fuch  troublefome  enemies,  who 
obstructed  the  intercourfe  of  the  traders  with  the 
neighbouring  nations,  listened  to  his  propofals,  and 
having  procured  advantageous  terms,  agreed  to  a 
peace.  The  Indians  foon  after  feparated,  and  re- 
turned to  their  different  provinces ;  nor  have  they 
fince  thought  proper  to  disturb,  at  leafl  in  any 
great  degree,  the  tranquility  of  thefe  parts. 

Pontiac  henceforward  feemed  to  have  laid  afide 
the  animofity  he  had  hitherto  borne  towards  the 
Englijfh,  and  apparently  became  thefr  zealous  friend. 
To  reward  this  new  attachment,  and  to  infure  a  con  • 
tinuance  of  it,  government  allowed  him  a  handfome 
penfion.  But  his  reftlefs  and  intriguing  Jpirit  would 
not  fuffer  him  to  be  grateful  for  this  allowance,  and 
his  conduct  at  length  grew  fufpicious ;  fo  that  going, 
in  the  year  1767,  to  hold  a  council  in  the  country  of 
the  Illinois,  a  faithful  Indian,  who  was  either  com- 
mifTioned  by  one  of  the  Englifh  governors,  or  in- 
stigated by  the  love  he  bore  the  Englifh  nation,  at- 
tended him  as  a  fpy;  and  being  convinced  from  the 
fpeech  Pontiac  made  in  the  council,  that  he  still  re- 
tained his  former  prejudices  againit  thofe  for  whom 
he  now  profeffed  a  friendfhip,  he  plunged   his  knife 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  i©5 

into  his  heart,  as  foon  as  he  had  done    fpeaking,  and 

kid  him  d 

digreffion. 


kid  him  dead  on  the  (pot.     But  to  return  from  this 


Lake  Erie  receives  the.waters  by  which  it  is  fup- 
plied  from  the  three  great  lakes,  through  the  Straits 
of  Detroit,  that  lie  at  its  north-weft  corner.  This 
lake  is  fituated  betv/een  forty-one  and  forty- three 
degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  between  feventy-eight 
and  eighty- three  degrees  of  weft  longitude.  It  is 
near  three  hundred  miles  long  from  eaft  to  weft,  and 
about  forty  in  its  broadeft  part  :  and  a  remarkable 
long  narrow  point  lies  on  its  north  fide,  that  projecls 
for  feverai  miles  into  the  lake  towards  the  fouth-eaft. 

There  are  feverai  iflands  near  the  weft  end  of  it  fo 
infefted  with  rattle-fnakes,  that  it  is  very  dangerous 
to  land  on  them.  It  is  impoflible  that  any  place 
can  produce  a  greater  number  of  all  kinds  of  thefe 
reptiles  than  this  does,  particularly  of  the  water- 
make.  The  lake  is  covered  near  the  banks  of  the 
iflands  with  the  large  pond-lily;  the  leaves  ofwhichlie 
on  the  furface  of  the  water  fo  thick,  as  to  cover  it 
entirely  for  many  acres|together ;  and  on  each  of  thefe 
lay,  when  I  pafled  over  it,  wreaths  of  water-makes 
bafking  in  the  fun,  which  amounted  to  myriads. 

The  moft  remarkable  of  the  different  fpecies,  that 
infeft  this  lake,  is  the  hiffing-fnake,  which  is  of  the 
fmall  fpeckled  kind,  and  about  eight  inches  long. 
When  any  thing  approaches,  it  flattens  itfelf  in  amo- 
ment,  and  its  fpots,  which  are  of  various  dyes  be- 
come vifibly  brighter  through  rage  •,  at  the  fame  time 
it  blows  from  its  mouth,  with  great  force,  a  fubtile 
wind,  that  is  reported  to  be  of  a  naufeous  fmell  ;  and 
if  drawn  in  with  the  breath  of  the  unwary  traveller, 
wall  infallibly  bring   on  a  decline,    that  in  a  few 

O 


ig6  C  A  R  V  E  R  '  s     T  R  A  V  ELS. 

months  mutt  prove  mortal,  there  being  no  remedy 
yet  difcovered  which  can  counteract  its  baneful  in- 
fluence. 

The  ftones  and  pebbles  on  the  fliores  of  this  lake 
lire  mole  of  them  tinged,  in  a  greater  or  lefs  degree, 
:s  that  refemble  brais  in  their  colour,  but 
which  are  of  a  more  fulphureous  nature.  Small 
pieces,  about  the  iize  of  hazle-nuts,  of  the  fame 
kinds  of  ore,  are  found  on  the  fands  that  lie  on  its 
banks,  and  under  the  water. 

The  navigation  of  this  lake  is  efteemed  more 
dangerous  than  any  of  the  others,  on  account  of 
many  high  lands  that  lie  on  the  borders  of  it,  and 
project  into  the  water,  in  a  perpendicular  direction 
for  many  miles  together  -,  fo  that  whenever  fudden 
ftorms  arife,  canoes  and  boats  are  frequently  loft,  as 
there  is  no  place  for  them  to  rind  a  fhelter. 

This  lake  difcharges  its  waters  at  the  north-eaft 
ends  into  the  River  Niagara,  which  runs  north  and 
fouth,  and  is  about  thirty  fix  miles  in  length  •,  from 
whence  it  falls  into  Lake  Ontario.  At  the  entrance 
of  this  river,  on  its  eaftern  more,  lies  Fort  Niagara  ; 
and,  about  eighteen  miles  further  up,  thofe  remark- 
able Falls  which  are  efteemed  one  of  the  moft  ex- 
traordinary productions  of  nature  at  prefent   known. 

As  thefe  have  been  vifited  by  fo  many  travellers, 
and  fo  frequently  defcribed,  I  fhall  omit  giving  a 
particular  defcription  ofthem,  and  only  obferve,  that 
the  waters  by  which  they  are  fupplied,  after  taking 
their  rife  near  two  thoufand  miles  to  the  north- 
weft,  and  paffmg  through  the  Lakes  Superior,Michi- 
gah,  Huron,  and  Eire,  during  which  they  have  been 
receiving  conftant  accumulations,  at  length  rufh 
down  a  ftupendous   precipice   of  one  hundred  and 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


forty  feet  perpendicular  -,  and  in  a  ftrong  rapid,  that 
extends  to  the  diftance  of  eight  or  nine  miles  below, 
fall  nearly  as  much  more  :  this  river  focn  after 
empties  itfelf  into  Lake  Ontario. 

The  noife  of  thefe  Falls  may  be  heard  an  amaz- 
ing way.  I  could  plainly  diftinguifn  them  in  a  calm 
morning  more  than  twenty  miles.  Others  have 
faid  that  at  particular  times,  and  when  the  wind  fits 
fair,  the  found  of  them  reaches  fifteen  leagues. 

The  land  about  the  Fall  is  exceedingly  hilly  and 
uneven,  but  the  greater!  part  of  that  on  the  Niagara 
River  is  very  good,  efpecially  for  grafs  and 
pafturage. 

Fort  Niagara  (lands  nearly  at  the  entrance  of  the 
weft  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  on  the  eaft  part  of  the 
Straits  of  Niagara.  It  was  taken  from  the  French 
in  the  year  1759,  ^7  t^Le  f°rces  under  the  command 
of  Sir  William  Johnfon,  and  at  pre  fen  t  is  defended 
by  a  considerable  garrifon. 

Lake  Ontario  is  the  next  and  leaft  of  the  five 
great  lakesof  Canada.  Its  fituation  is  between  forty 
three  and  forty-five  degrees  of  latitude,  and  be- 
tween feventy- fix  and  feventy-nine  degrees  of  weft 
longitude.  The  form  of  it  is  nearly  oval,  its  greateft 
length  being  from  north-eaft  to  fouth-weft,  and  in 
circumference,  about  fix  hundred  miles.  Near  the 
fouth-eaft  pari:  it  receives  the  waters  of  the  Oiwego 
River,and  on  the  north-eaft  difcharges  itfelf  into  the 
River  Cataraqui.  Not  far  from  the  place  where  it 
iffues,  Fort  Frontenac  formerly  flood,  which  was 
taken  from  the  French  during  the  iaft  war,  in  the 
year  1758,  by  a  fmall  army  of  Provincials  under  Col. 
Bradftreet. 


ioS  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

At  the  entrance  of  Ofwego  River  Hands  a  fort  of 
the  fame  name,  garrifoned  only  at  prefent  by  ^n  in- 
confiderable  party.  This  fort  was  taken  in  the  year 
1756,  by  the  French,  when  a  great  part  of  the  gar- 
nfon,  which  confided  of  the  late  Shirley's  and  Pep- 
peril's  regiments,  were  maiTacred  in  cold  blood  by 
the  favages. 

In  Lake  Ontario  are  taken  many  forts  of  flfh3 
among  which  is  the  Ofwego  Bafs,  of  an  excellent 
flavour,  and  weighing  about  three  or  four  pounds. 
There  is  alfo  a  fort  called  the  Cat-head  or  Pout, 
which  are  in  general  very  large,  fome  of  them 
weighing  eight  or  ten  pounds  j  and  they  are  efteemed 
a  rare  dim  when  properly  dreiTed. 

On  the  north- weft  part  of  this  Lake,  and  to  the 
fouth-eaft  of  Lake  Huron,  is  a  tribe  of  Indians  called 
Miiniauges,  whofe  town  is  denominated  Toronto, 
from  the  lake  on  which  it  lies  ;  but  they  are  not  very 
numerous.  The  country  about  Lake  Ontario,  es- 
pecially the  more  north  and  caftern  parts,  is  compofed 
of  good  land,  and  in  time  may  make  very  flourifh- 
ing  fettlements. 

The  Oniada  Lake,  fituated  near  the  head  of  the 
River  Ofwego,  receives  the  waters  of  Wood-Creek, 
which  takes  its  rife  not  far  from  the  Mohawk's 
River.  Thefe  two  lie  fo  adjacent  to  each  other, 
that  a  junction  is  effected  by  fluices  at  fort  Stanwix* 
about  twelve  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  former. 
This  lake  is  about  thirty  miles  long  from  eaft  to  weft, 
and  near  fifteen  broad.  The  country  around  it  be- 
longs to  the  Oniada  Indians. 

Lake  Champlain,  the  ne*t  in  fize  to  Lake  On- 
tario, and  which  lies  nearly  eaft  from  it  is  about 
eighty  miles  in  length,   north  and  fouth,  and   in  its 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  109 

broadeft  part  fourteen.  It  is  well  ftored  with  fifh, 
and  the  lands  that  lie  on  all  the  borders  of  it,  and 
about  its  rivers,  very  good. 

Lake  George,  formerly  called  by  the  French 
Lake  St.  Sacrament,  lies  to  the  fouth-weir.  of  the 
lafl  mentioned  lake,  and  is  about  thirty-five  miles 
long  fromnorth-eaft  to  fouth-weft,  but  of  no  great 
breadth.  The  country  around  it  is  very  mountain- 
ous, but  in  the  vallies  the  land  is   tolerably  good. 

When  thefe  two  lakes  were  firft  difcovered,  they 
were  known  by  no  other  name  than  that  of  the  Iro- 
quois Lakes  ;  and  I  believe  in  the  firft  plans  taken 
of  thofe  parts,  were  fo  denominated.  The  Indians 
alfo  that  were  then  called  the  Iroquois,  are  fince 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Five  Mowhawk  nations, 
and  the  Mowhawks  of  Canada.  In  the  late  war,  the 
former,  which  confift  of  the  Onondagoes,  the 
Oniadas,  the  Senecas,the  Tufcarories,andIroondocks, 
fought  on  the  fide  of  the  Englifh  :  the  latter  which 
are  called  the  Cohnawaghans,  and  St.  Francis  In- 
dians, joined  the  French. 

A  vaft  tract  of  land  that  lies  between  the  two  lafb 
mentioned  lakes  and  Ontario,  was  granted  in  the 
year  1629,  by  the  Plymouth  Company,  under  a 
patent  they  had  received  from  King  James  I.  to 
Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  and  to  Captain  John  Ma- 
fon,  the  head  of  that  family,  afterwards  diftinguifhed 
from  others  of  the  fame  name,  by  the  Mafons  of 
Connecticut.  The  countries  fpecified  in  this  grant 
are  faid  to  begin  ten  miles  from  the  heads  of  the 
rivers  that  run  from  the  eaft  and  fouth  into  Lake 
George  and  Lake  Champlain  ;  and  continuing  from 
thefe  in  a  direct  line  weftward,  extend  to  the  mid- 
dle of  Lake  Ontario  -,  from  thence,  being  bounded 
by  the  Cataraqui,  or  river  of  the  Iroquois,  they  take 


no  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

their  courfe  to  Montreal,  as  far  as  Fort  Sorrel!,  which 
lies  at  thejun6tion  of  this  river  with  the  Richlieu  ; 
and  from  that  point  are  enclofed  by  the  laft  men- 
tioned river  till  it  returns  back  to  the  two  lakes. 

This  immenfe  fpace  was  granted  by  the  name  of 
the  Province  ofLaconia,  to  the  aforefaidgentleman, 
on  fpecified  conditions,  and  under  certain  penalties  ■> 
but  none  of  thefe  amounted  in  cafe  of  cmifiion  in 
the  fulfilment  of  any  part  of  them,  to  forfeiture,  a 
fine  only  could  be  exacted. 

On  account  of  the  continual  wars  to  which  thefe 
parts  have  been  fubjecT:,  from  their  fituation  between 
the  fettlements  of  the  Englifn,  the  French,  and  the 
Indians,  this  grgnt  has  been  fuffered  to  lie  dormant 
by  the  real  proprietors.  Notwithstanding  which, 
feveral  towns  have  been  fettled  fince  the  late  war, 
on  the  borders  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  grants  made 
to  different  people  by  the  governor  of  New-York,of 
part  of  thefe  territories,  which  are  now  become  an- 
nexed to  that  province. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  lakes  on  the  north 
of  Canada,  between  Labrador,  Lake  Superior,  and 
Hudfon's  Bay,  but  thefe  are  comparatively  fmalL 
As  they  lie  out  of  the  track  thatlpurfued,!  mail  only 
give  a  fummary  account  of  them.  The  mod  wef- 
terly  of  thefe  are  the  Lakes  Nipifingand  Tamifcam- 
ing.  The  firft  lies  at  the  head  of  the  French  River, 
and  runs  into  Lake  Huron  ;  the  other  on  the  Otta- 
waw  River,  which  empties  itfelfinto  the  Cartaraqui 
at  Montreal.  Thefe  lakes  are  each  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  in  circumference. 

The  next  is  Lake  Miftafim,  on  the  head  of  Ru- 
pert's River,  that  falls  into  James's  Bay.  This  Lake 
is  fo  irregular    from  the   large   points    of  land    by 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  m 

which  it  is  interfered  on  every  fide,  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult either  to  defcribe  its  fhape,  or  to  afcertain  its 
fize.  It  however  appears  on  the  whole  to  be  more 
than  two  hundred  miles  in  circumference. 

Lake  St.  John,  which  is  about  eighty  miles 
round,  and  of  a  circular  form,  lies  on  the  Saguenay 
River,  directly  north  of  Quebec,  and  falls  into  the 
St.  Lawrence,  femewhat  north-eaft  of  that  city. 
Lake  Manikouao;one  lies  near  the  head  of  the  Black 
River,  which  empties  itfelf  into  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
theeafhvard  of  the  laft  mentioned  river,  near  the  coaft 
of  Labrador,  and  is  about  fixty  miles  in  circumfe- 
rence, Lake  Pertibi,  Lake  Wincktagan,  Lake  Et- 
chelaugon,  and  Lake  Papenouagane,  with  a  num- 
ber of  other  fmall  lakes;  lie  near  the  heads  of  the 
Buflard  River  to  the  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Many  ethers,  which  it  is  unnecefTary  to  parti- 
cularize here,  are  alfo  found  between  the  Lakes 
Huron  and  Ontario. 

The  whole  of  thofe  I  have  enumerated,  amount- 
ing to  upwards  of  twenty,  are  within  the  limits  of 
Canada;  and  from  this  account  it  might  be  deduced, 
that  the  northern  parts  of  North-America,  through 
thefe  numerous  inland  feas,  contain  a  greater  quan- 
tity of  water  than  any  other  quarter  of  the  globe. 

In  October  1768  I  arrived  at  Bofton,  having  been 
abfent  from  it  on  this  expedition  two  years  and  five 
months,  and  during  that  time  travelled  near  fever* 
thoufand  miles.  From  thence,  as  foon  as  I  had  pro- 
perly digefted  my  Journal  and  Charts,  I  fet  out  for 
England  to  communicate  the  difcoveries  I  had  made, 
and  to  render  them  beneficial  to  the  kingdom.  But 
the  profecution  of  my  plans  for  reaping  thefe  advan- 
tages has  hitherto  been  obftructed  by  the  unhappy 


ii2  CARVE  R's    TRAVELS. 

diviiions  that  have  been  fomented  between  Great- 
Britain  and  her  Colonies  by  their  mutual  enemies. 
Should  peace  once  more  be  reftored,  I  doubt  not 
but  that  the  countries  I  have  defcribed  will  prove  a 
more  abundant  fource  of  riches  to  this  nation,  than 
either  its  Eaft  or  Weft-Indian  fettlements  •>  and  I 
mail  not  only  pride  myfelf,  but  fincerely  rejoice  in 
being  the  means  of  pointing  out  to  it  fo  valuable  an 
acquifition. 

I  cannot  conclude  che  account  of  my  extenfive  tra- 
vels, without  expreffing  my  gratitude  to  that  bene- 
ficent Being  who  invifibly  protected  me  through  thofe 
perils  which  unavoidably  attend  lb  long  a  tour 
among  fierce  and  untutored  favages. 

At  the  fame  time  let  me  not  be  accufed  of  vanity 
or  prefumption,  if  I  declare  that  the  motives  alleged 
in  the  introduction  of  this  work,  were  not  the  only 
ones  that  induced  me  to  engage  in  this  arduous  un- 

O      CD 

dertaking.  My  views  were  net  folely  confined  to 
the  advantages  that  might  accrue  either  to  myfelf, 
or  the  community  to  which  I  belonged;  but  nobler 
purpefes  contributed  principally  to  urge  me  on. 

The  confined  flate,  both  v/ith  regard  to  civil  and 
religious  improvements,  in  which  fo  many  of  my 
fellow-creatures  remained,  aroufed  within  my  bo- 
fom  an  irrefiftible  inclination  to  explore  the  almofl 
unknown  regions  which  they  inhabited ;  and  as  a 
preparatory  flep  towards  the  introduction  of  more 
polifhed  manners,  and  more  humane  fentiments,  to 
gain  a  knowledge  of  their  language,  cuftoms,  and 
principles. 

I  confefs  that  the  little  benefit  too  many  of  the 
Indian  nations  have  hitherto  received  from  their  Ln- 
tercourfe    with   thoie  who   denominate   themfelves 


CARVER's     TRAVELS.  ii3 

Chriftians,  did  not  tend  to  encourage  my  charitable 
purpofcsj  yet  as  many,  though  not  the  generality, 
might  receive  fome  benefit  from  the  introduction 
among  them  of  the  polity  and  religion  of  the  Euro- 
peans, without  retaining  only  the  errors  or  vices  that 
from  the  depravity  and  pervcrfion  of  their  profeffors 
are  unhappily  attendant  on  thefe,  I  determined  to 
preftverc. 

Nor  could  I  flatter  myfelf  that  I  mould  be  able 
to  accompliih  alone  this  great  defign;  however,  I 
was  willing  to  contribute  as  much  as  lay  in  my  power 
towards  it.  la  all  public  undertakings  would  every 
one  do  this,  and  furnifh  with  alacrity  his  particular 
fhare  towards  it,  what  ftupendous  works  might  nor 
be  completed. 

It  is  true  that  the  Indians  are  not  without  fome 
fenfe  of  religion,  and  fuch  as  proves  that  they  wor- 
ship the  Great  Creator  with  a  degree  of  purity  un- 
known to  nations  who  have  greater  opportunities 
of  improvement;  but  their  religious  principles  are 
far  from  being  fo  fauitlefs  as  deicribed  by  a  learned 
writer,  or  unmixed  with  opinions  and  ceremonies 
that  greatly  leffen  their  excellency  in  this  point.  So 
that  could  the  doctrines  of  genuine  and  vital  Chris- 
tianity be  introduced  among  them,  pure  and  un- 
tainted, as  it  flowed  from  the  lips  of  its  Divine  In- 
rtitutor,  it  would  certainly  tend  to  clear  away  that 
fuperftitious  or  idolatrous  drofs  by  which  the  ratio- 
nality of  their  religious  tenets  are  obfeured.  Its 
mild  and  beneficent  precepts  would  like-wife  conduce 
to  foften  their  implacable  difpofitions,  and  to  refine 
their  favage  manners;  an  event  moft  defirable;  and 
happy  fhali  I  efteem  myfelf,  if  this  publication  mail 
prove  the  means  of  pointing  out  the  path  by   which 

P 


ILi 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 


ialutary  inftructions  may  be  conveyed  to  them,  and 
the  converfation,  though  but  of  a  few,  be  the  con- 
fequence. 


Conclusion  of  the  JOURNAL,  &c. 


OF      THE 

ORIGIN,  MANNERS,  CUSTOMS, 
RELIGION,  and  LANGUAGE 

OF      THE 

INDIANS. 


CHAPTER. 

Of  their  Origin. 


T 


H  E  means  by  which  America  received 
its  fir  ft  inhabitants,  have,  fince  the  time  of  its  dif- 
covery  by  the  Europeans,  been  the  fubject.  of  num- 
berlefs  difquifitions.  Was  I  to  endeavour  to  collect 
the  different  opinions  and  reafonings  of  the  various 
writers  that  have  taken  up  the  pen  in  defence  of  their 
conjectures,  the  enumeration  would  much  exceed 
the  bounds  I  have  preicribed  to  myfelf,  and  oblige 
me  to  be  lefs  explicit  on  points  of  greater  mo- 
ment. 

From  the  obfeurity  in  which  this  debate  is  enve- 
loped, through  the  total  difufe  of  letters  among  every 
nation  of  Indians  on  this  extenfive  continent,  and 
the  uncertainty  of  oral  tradition  at  the  difcance  of  fo 
many  ages,  I  fear,  that  even  after  the  moft  minute 
investigation,  we  ihall  not  be  able  to  fettle  it  with 
any  great  degree  of  certainty.  And  this  apprehen- 
sion will  receive  additional  force,  when  it  is  confi- 


:: 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 


dered  that  the  diverfity  of  language,  which  is  appa- 
rently citlinCt  between  mod  of  the  Indians,  tends 
to  afcertain  that  this  population  was  not  effected  from 
one  particular  counny,  but  from  feveral  nieghbour- 
ing  ones,  and  completed  at  different  periods. 

Moil  of  the  the  hiftorians  or  travellers  that  have 
treated  on  the  American  Aborigines,  difagree  in 
their  fentiments  relative  to  them.  Many  of  the  an- 
cients are  fuppofed  to  have  known  that  this  quarter 
of  the  globe  hot  only  exifted,  but  alfo  that  it  was  in- 
habited. Plato  in  his  Timrcus  has  aficrted,  that 
beyond  the  ifland  which  he  calls  Atalantis,  and 
which,  according  to  his  description,  was  fituated  in 
the  Weflern  Ocean,  there  were  a  great  number  of 
other  iflands,  and  behind  thole  a  vait  continent. 

Oviedo,  a  celebrated  Spanifh  author  of  a  much 
later  date,  has  made  no  fcruple  to  affirm  that  the 
Antilles  are  the  famous  Kefperides  fo  often  menti- 
oned by  the  poets ;  which  are  at  length  rcftored  to 
the  kings  pi  Spain,  the  defcendants  of  king  Hefpe- 
rus,  who  lived  upwards  of  three  thouiand  years 
ago,  and  from  whom  thefe  iflands  received  their 
name:, 

Two  other  Spaniards,  the  one,  Father  Gregorio 
Garcia,  a  Dominican,  the  other,  Father  Jofeph  Be 
Acofla,  a  Jefuit,  have  written  on  the  oiigin  of  the 
Americans. 

The  former  who  had  been  employed  in  the  milli- 
ons of  P/iexico  and  Peru,  endeavoured  to  prove 
from  the  traditions  of  the  Mexicans,  Peruvians,  and 
others,  which  he  received  on  the  {pot,  and  from  the 
variety  of  characters,  cnfloms,  languages,  and  reli- 
gion obfervable  in  the  different  countries  of  the  New 
World,  that  different  nations  had  contributed  to  the 
peopling  of  it. 


CARVER's    TRAVELS.  n7 

The  latter.  Father  De  Acofla,  in  his  examination 
of  the  means  by  which  the  firlt  Indians  of  America 
might  have  found  a  paffage  to  that  continent,  dif- 
credits  the  conclufions  of  thofe  who  have  fuppofed 
it  to  be  by  fea,  becaufe  no  ancient  author  has  made 
mention  of  the  compafs:  and  concludes,  that  it  mult 
be  either  by  the  north  of  Afia  and  Europe,  which 
adjoin  to  each  other,  or  by  thofe  regions  that  lie  to 
the  fouthward  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  He  alfo 
rejects  the  affertions  of  fuch  as  have  advanced  that  it 
was  peopled  by  the  Hebrews. 

John  de  Laet,  a  Flemifh  writer,  has  controverted 
the  opinions  of  thefe  Spanifh  fathers,  and  of  many 
others  who  ha^e  written  on  the  fame  lubject.  The 
hypothecs  he  endeavours  to  eftablifh,  is,  that  Ame- 
rica was  certainly  peopled  by  the  Scythians  or  Tar- 
tars: and  that  the  transmigration  of  thefe  people 
happened  foon  after  the  difperfion  of  Noah's  grand- 
fons.  He  undertakes  to  fliow,  that  the  moil  nor- 
thern Americans  have  a  greater  refemblance,  not 
only  in  the  features  of  their  countenances,  but  alfo 
in  their  complexion  and  manner  of  living,  to  the 
Scythians,  Tartars,  and  Samceides,  than  to  any 
other  nations. 

In  anfwer  to  Grotius,  who  had  afTerted  that  fome 
of  the  Norwegians  pafTed  into  America  by  way  of 
Greenland,  and  over  a  vafr  continent,  he  fays,  that 
it  is.  well  known  that  Greenland  was  not  difcovered 
till  the  year  964;  and  both  Gomera  and  Herrera  in- 
form us  that  the  Chichimeques  were  fettled  on  the 
Lake  of  Mexico  in  721.  He  adds,  that  thefe  fava- 
ges,  according  to  the  uniform  tradition  of  the  Mex- 
icans who  difpofTelfed  them,  came  from  the  coun- 
try fince  called  New  Mexico,  and  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  California;  confequently  North-Ame- 
rica muft  have   been   inhabited  many  ages  before  k 


1 18  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

could  receive  any  inhabitants   from  Norway  by  way 
of  Greenland. 

It  is  no  lefs  certain,  he  obferves,  that  the  real 
Mexicans  founded  their  empire  in  902,  after  having 
fubdued  the  Chichimeques,  theOcomias,  and  other 
barbarous  nations,  who  had  taken  poffcffion  of  the 
country  round  the  Lake  of  Mexico,  and  each  of 
whom  fpoke  a  language  peculiar  to  themfelves. 
The  real  Mexicans  are  likewife  fuppofed  to  come 
from  fome  of  the  countries  that  lie  near  California, 
and  that  they  performed  their  journey  for  the  moft 
part  by  land  i  ofcourfe  they  could  not  come  from 
Norway. 

De  Naet  further  adds,  that  though  fome  of  the 
inhabitants  of  North-America  may  have  entered  ic 
from  the  north-weft,  yet,  as  it  is  related  by  Pliny, 
and  fome  other  writers,  that  on  many  of  the  iflands 
near  the  weftern  coaft  of  Africa,  particularly  on  the 
Canaries,  fome  ancient  edirices  were  feen,  it  is  highly 
probably  from  their  being  now  deferted,  that  the  in- 
habitants may  havepaiil::  over  to  America ;  the  paf- 
fage  being  neither  long  nor  difficult.  This  migra- 
tion, according  to  the  calculation  of  thofe  authors, 
mull"  have  happened  more  than  two  thoufand  years 
ago,  at  a  time  when  the  Spaniards  were  much  trou- 
bled by  the  Carthaginians;  from  whom  having  ob- 
tained a  knowledge  of  navigation,  and  the  conduc- 
tion of  fhjps,  they  might  have  retired  to  the  Antil- 
les, by  the  way  of  the  weftern  ides,  which  were 
exactly  halfway  on  their  voyage. 

He  thinks  alio  that  Great-Britain,  Ireland,  and 
the  Orcades  were  extremely  proper  to  admit  of  a 
(imilar  conjecture.  As  a  proof,  he  inferts  the  fol- 
lowing pailage  from  the  hiftory  of  Wales,  written 
by  Dr.  David  Pcwel,  in  the  year  1170. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  1 19 

This  hiftorian  fays,  that  Madoc,  one  of  the  fons 
of  Prince  Owen  Gwynnith,  being  difgufted  at  the 
civil  wars  which  broke  out  between  his  brothers, 
after  the  death  of  their  father,  fitted  out  feveral  vef- 
fcls,  and  having  provided  them  with  every  thing 
neceffary  for  a  long  voyage,  went  in  queft  of  new 
lands  to  the  weftward  of  Ireland j  there  he  difco- 
vered  very  fertile  countries,  but  deftitute  of  inhabi- 
tants ;  when  landing  part  of  his  people,  he  returned 
to  Britain,  where  he  raifed  new  levies,  and  after- 
wards tranfported  them  to  his  colony. 

The  Fiemifh  author  then  returns  to  the  Scythians, 
between  whom  and  the  Americans  be  drawn  a  pa- 
rallel. He  obferves  that  feveral  nations  of  them  to 
the  north  of  the  Cafpian  Sea,  led  a  wandering 
life;  which,  as  well  as  many  other  of  their  cuf- 
toms,  and  way  of  living,  agrees  in  many  circum- 
ftances  with  the  Indians  of  America.  And  though 
the  refemblances  are  not  abfolutely  perfect,  yet 
the  emigrants,  even  before  they  left  their  own 
country,  differed  from  each  other,  and  went  not 
by  the  fame  name.  Their  change  of  abode  effected 
what  remained. 

He  further  fays,  that  a  fimilar  likenefs  exifts 
between  feveral  American  nations,  and  the  Samoei- 
des  who  are  fettled  according  to  the  P^ufiian  ac- 
counts, on  the  great  River  Oby.  And  it  is  more 
natural,  continues  he,  to  fuppofe  that  Colonies  of 
their  nations  palled  over  to  America  by  eroding 
the  icy  fea  on  their  fledges,  than  for  the  Norwegians 
to  travel  all  the  way  Grotius  has  marked  out  for 
them. 

This  writer  makes  many  other  remarks  that  are 
equally  fenfible,  and  which  appear  to  be  jure ;  bu: 


i2o  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

he  intermixes  with  thefe,  fome  that  are  not  fo  well 
founded. 

Emanuel  de  Moraez,  a  Portuguefe,  in  this  hiflo- 
ry  of  Brazil,  afferts,  that  America  has  been  wholly- 
peopled  by  the  Carthaginians  and  Ifraelites.  He 
brings  as  a  proof  of  this  afifertion,  the  difcoveries 
rhe  former  are  known  to  have  made  at  a  great  dif- 
tance  beyond  the  coafl  of  Africa.  The  progrefs  of 
which  being  put  a  ftop  to  by  the  fenate  of  Carthage, 
thofe  who  happened  to  be  them  in  the  newly  dif- 
covered  countries,  being  cut  off  from  all  communi- 
cation with  their  countrymen,  and  deftitute  of  many 
neeefTaries  of  life,  fell  into  a  ftate  of  barbarifm.  As 
to  the  Ifraelites,  this  author  thinks  that  nothing  but 
circumcifion  is  wanted  in  order  to  conftitute  a  per- 
fect refemblance  between  them  and  the  Brazilians. 

George  De  Hwron,  a  learned  Dutchman,  has  like- 
wife  written  on  the  fubjecl.  He  fets  out  with  de- 
claring, that  he  does  not  believe  it  poflible  America 
could  have  been  peopled  before  the  flood,  confider- 
ing  the  fhort  fpace  of  time  which  elapfed  between 
the  creation  of  the  world  and  that  memorable  event. 
In  the  next  place  he  lays  it  down  as  a  principle,  that 
after  the  deluge,  men  and  other  terreftrial  animals 
penetrated  into  that  country  both  by  the  fea  and  by 
land  ;  fome  through  accident,  and  fome  from  a  form- 
ed defign.  That  birds  got  thither  by  flight  ;  which 
they  were  enabled  to  do  by  reding  on  the  rocks  and 
iflands'that  are  fcattered  about  in  the  Ocean. 

He  further  obferves,  that  wild  beafts  may  have 
found  a  free  paflage  by  land;  and  that  if  we  do  not 
meet  with  horfes  or  cattle  (to  which  he  might  have 
added  elephants,  camels,  rhinoceros,  and  beafts  of 
many  other  kinds)  it  is  becaufe   thofe   nations  that 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  121 

paired  thither,  were  either  not  acquainted  with  their 
ufe,  or  had  no  convenience  to  fupport  them. 

Having  totally  excluded  many  nations  that  others 
have  admitted  as  the  probable  firft  fettlers  of  Ame- 
rica, for  which  he  gives  fubftantial  reafons,  he  fup- 
pofes  that  it  began  to  be  peopled  by  the  north;  and 
maintains,  that  the  primitive  colonies  fprcad  them- 
felves  by  the  means  of  the  ifthmus  of  Panama  through 
the  whole  extent  of  the  continent. 

He  believes  that  the  firft  founders  of  the  Indian 
Colonies  were  Scythians.  That  the  Phoenicians 
and  Carthaginians  afterwards  got  footing  in  America 
acrofs  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  the  Chmefe  by  way 
of  the  Pacific.  And  that  other  nations  might  from 
time  to  time  have  landed  there  by  one  or  other  of 
theie  ways,  or  might  pcflibly  have  been  thrown  on 
the  coaft  by  tempefts :  fince,  through  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  that  Continent,  both  in  its  northern  and 
fouthern  parts,  we  meet  with  undoubted  marks  of  a 
mixture  of  the  northern  nations  with  thofe  who  have 
come  from  other  places.  And  laftly,  that  fome  Jews 
and  Chriftians  might  have  been  carried  there  by  fuch 
like  events,  but  that  this  muft  have  happened  at  a 
time  when  the  whole  of  the  New  World  was  already 
peopled. 

After  all,  he  acknowleges  that  great  difficulties 
attend  the  determination  of  the  queftion.  Thefe, 
he  fays,  are  occafioned  in  the  firft  place  by  the  im- 
perfect knowledge  we  have  of  the  extremities  of  the 
globe,  towards  the  north  and  fouth  pole ;  and  in 
the  next  place  to  the  havoc  which  the  Spaniards, 
the  firft  difcoverers  of  the  New  World,  made  among 
its  moft  ancient  monuments;  as  witnefs  the  great 
double  road  betwixt:  Quito  and  Cuzco,  an  under- 
taking fo  ftupendous,  that  even  the  moft  magnift- 


122  CARVER'S    TRAVE  L  S. 

cent  of  thofe  executed  by  the  Romans,  cannot  be 
compared  to  it. 

He  fuppofes  alio  another  migration  of  the  Phoe- 
nicians, than  thofe  already  mentioned,  to  have  taken 
place  i  and  this  was  during  a  three  years  voyage 
made  by  the  Tyrian  fleet  in  the  fervice  of  King  So- 
lomon. He  affcrts  on  the  authority  of  Jofephus, 
that  the  port  at  which  this  embarkation  was  made, 
:ay  in  the  Mediterranean.  The  fleet,  he  adds,  went 
in  quell  of  elephants'  teeth  and  peacocks,  to  the 
weftern  coaft  of  Africa,  which  is  Tarfhifhj  then  to 
Ophir  for  gold,  which  is  Haite,  or  the  ifland  of 
Hifpaniola;  and  in  the  latter  opinion  he  is  fupported 
by  Columbus,  who,  when  he  difcovered  that  ifland, 
thought  he  could  trace  the  furnaces  in  which  the  gold 
was  refined. 

To  thefe  migrations  which  preceded  the  Chrif- 
tian  aera,  he  adds  many  others  of  a  later  date,  from 
different  nations,  but  thefe  I  have  not  time  to  enu- 
merate. For  the  fame  reafori  I  am  obliged  to  pafs 
over  numberlefs  writers  on  this  fubject;  and  mail 
content  myfelf  with  only  giving  the  fentiments  of 
two  or  three  more. 

The  firft  of  thefe  is  Pierre  De  Charlevoix,  a 
Frenchman,  who,  in  his  journal  of  a  voyage  to 
North- America,  made  ib  lately  as  the  year  1720, 
has  recapitulated  the  opinion  of  a  variety  of  authors 
on  this  head,  to  which  he  has  fubjoined  his  own  con- 
jectures. But  the  latter  cannot  without  fome  diffi- 
culty be  extracted,  as  they  are  fo  interwoven  with 
the  parTages  he  has  quoted,  that  it  requires  much  at- 
tention to  difcriminate  them.-     --  - 

He  feems  to  allow  that  America  might  have  re- 
ceived its  firft  inhabitants  from  Tartary  and  Hyrca- 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


125 


nia.  This  he  confirms,  by  obferving  that  the  lion* 
and  tigers  which  are  found  in  the  former,  muft 
have  come  from  thofe  countries,  and  whole  paflages 
ferves  for  a  proof  that  the  two  hemifpheres  join  to 
the  northward  of  Afia.  He  then  draws  a  corro- 
boration of  this  argument,  from  a  ftory  he  fays  he 
has  often  heard  related  by  Father  Grollon,  a  French 
Jefuit,  as   an  undoubted  matter  of  fact. 

This  father  after  having  laboured  fome  time  in 
the  millions  of  New  France,  pafled  over  to  thofe  of 
China.  One  day  as  he  was  travelling  in  Tartary, 
he  met  a  Huron  woman  whom  he  had  formerly 
known  in  Canada.  He  afked  her  by  what  adven- 
ture fhe  had  been  carried  into  a  country  fo  diftant 
from  her  own.  She  made  anfwer,  that  having  been 
taken  in  war,  fhe  had  been  conducted  from  nation  to 
nation,  till  fhe  had  reached  the  place  at  which  fhe 
then  was. 

Monfieur  Charlevoix  fays  further,  that  he  had 
been  afTured  another  Jefuit,  pafling  through  Nantz,, 
in  his  return  from  China,  had  related  much  fuch 
another  affair  of  a  Spanifh  woman  from  Florida. 
She  alfo  had  been  taken  by  certain  Indians,  and 
given  to  thofe  of  a  more  diftant  country;  and  by 
thefe  again  to  another  nation,  till  having  thus  been 
iucceffively  pafled  from  country  to  country,  and  tra- 
velled through  regions  extremely  cold,  fhe  at  laffc 
found  herfelf  in  Tartary.  Here  fhe  had  married  a 
Tartar,  who  had  attended  the  conquerors  in  China, 
where  fhe  was  then  fettled. 

He  acknowledges  as  an  allay  to  the  probability 
of  thefe  ftories,  that  thofe  who  had  failed  fartheft 
to  the  eaftward  of  Afia,  by  purfuing  the  coafl  of 
Jefifo  or  Kamfchatka,  have  pretended  that  they  had 


124  CARVER'S    TRAVELS, 

perceived  the  extremity  of  this  continent ;  and  from 
thence  have  concluded  that  there  could  not  poffibly. 
be  any  communication  by  land.  But  he  adds  that 
Francis  Guella,  a  Spaniard,  is  faid  to  have  afierted, 
that  this  feparation  is  no  more  than  a  ilrait,  about 
one  hundred  miles  over,  and  that  fome  late  voyages 
of  the  Japanefe  give  ground  to  think  that  this  ftrait 
is  only  a  bay,  above  which  there  is  paiTage  over 
land. 

He  goes  on  to  obferve,  that  though  there  are 
few  wild  beafts  to  be  met  with  in  North- America> 
except  a  kind  of  tigers  without  fpots,  which  are 
found  in  the  country  of  the  Iroquoife,  yet  towards 
the  tropics  there  are  lions  and  real  tigers,  which, 
notwithstanding,  might  have  come  from  Hyrcania 
and  Tartary*  for  as  by  advancing  gradually  fouth- 
ward  they  met  with  climates  more  agreeable  to  their 
natures,  they  have  in  time  abandoned  the  northern- 
countries. 

He  quotes  both  Solinus  and  Pliny  to  prove  that 
the  Scythian  Anthropophagi  once  depopulated  a 
great  extent  of  country,  as  far  as  the  promontory 
Tabin;  and  alfo  an  author  of  later  date,  Mark  Pol, 
a  Venetian,  who,  he  fays,  tells  us,  that  to  the  north- 
eaft  of  China  and  Tartary  there  are  vaft  uninhabited 
countries,  which  might  be  fufficient  to  confirm  any 
conjectures  concerning  the  retreat  of  a  great  number 
of  Scythians  into  America. 

To  this  he  adds,  that  we  rind  in  the  ancients  the 
names  of  fome  of  thefe  nations.  Pliny  fpeaks  of 
the  Tabians;  Solinus  mentions  the  Apuleans,  who 
had  for  neighbours  the  MafTagetes,  whom  Pliny 
fince-  allures  us  to  have,  entirely  difappeared.  Am- 
mianus  Marcellinus  exprefsly  tells  us,  that  the  fear 
of  the  Anthropophagi  obliged  feveral  of  the  inhabi- 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  125 

rants  of  thofe  countries  to  take  refuge  elfewhere. 
From  all  thefe  authorities  Monfieur  Charlevoix  con- 
cludes, that  there  is  at  lealh  room  to  conjecture  that 
more  than  one  nation  in  America  had  the  Scythian 
or  Tartarian  original. 

He  finifhes  his  remarks  on  the  authors  he  has 
quoted,  by  the  following  obfervations  :  It  appears  to 
me  that  this  controverfy  may  be  reduced  to  the 
two  following  articles  -,  firft,  how  the  new  world 
might  have  been  peopled  j  and  fecondly,  by  whom, 
and  by  what  means  it  has  been  peopled. 

Nothing,  he  alferts,  may  be  more  eafily  anfwered 
than  the  firft.  America  might  have  been  peopled 
as  the  three  other  parts  of  the  world  have  been. 
Many  difficulties  have  been  formed  on  this  fubject, 
which  have  been  deemed  infolvable,  but  which  are 
far  from  being  fo.  The  inhabitants  of  both  hemif- 
pheres  are  certainly  the  defcendants  of  the  fame  fa- 
ther  ;  the  common  parent  of  mankind  received  an 
cxprefs  command  from  Heaven  to  people  the  whole 
world,  and  accordingly  it  has  been  peopled. 

To  bring  this  about  it  was  neceflary  to  overcome 
all  difficulties  that  lay  in  the  way,  and  they  have 
"been  got  over.  Were  thefe  difficulties  greater  with 
refpedt  to  peopling  the  extremities  of  Afia,  Africa, 
and  Europe,  or  the  tranfporting  men  into  the  iflands 
which  lie  at  confiderable  diftance  from  thofe  con- 
tinents, than  to  pafs  over  into  America?  certainly  not. 

Navigation,  which  has  arrived  at  fo  great  per- 
fection within  thefe  three  or  four  centuries,  might 
poflibly  have  been  more  perfect  in  thofe  early  ages 
than  at  this  day.  Who  can  believe  that  Noah  and 
his  immediate  defcendants  knew  lefs  of  this  art  than 
we  do  ?  That  the  builder  and  pilot  of  the  largeft  fhip 


126  CARVER's    TRAVELS. 

that  ever  was,  a  fhip  that  was  formed  to  traverfe 
an  unbounded  ocean,  and  had  fo  many  fhoals  and 
quick-fands  to  guard  againft,  mould  be  ignorant  of, 
or  mould  not  have  commuicated  to  thofe  of  his  de- 
fcendantswho  furvived  him,  and  by  whofe  means  he 
was  to  execute  the  order  of  the  Great  Creator  •,  I  fay, 
who  can  believe  he  mould  not  have  communicated 
to  them  the  art  of  failing  upon  an  ocean,  which  was 
notonly  more  calm  and  pacific,  but  at  the  fame  time 
confined  within  its  ancient  limits  ? 

Admitting  this,  how  eafy  is  it  to  pafs,  exclufive 
of  the  paffage  already  defcribed,  by  land  from  the 
coaft  of  Africa  to  Brazil,  from  the  Canaries  to  the 
Weftern  Iflands,  and  from  them  to  the  Antilles  ? 
From  the  Britifh  Ifles  or  the  coaft  of  France,  to 
Newfoundland,  the  paffage  is  neither  long  nor  diffi- 
cult i  I  might  fay  as  much  of  that  from  China  to 
Japan  -,  from  Japan,  or  the  Philippines,  to  the  Ifles 
Mariannes  -,  and  from  thence   to  Mexico. 

There  are  iflands  at  a  considerable  diftance  from 
the  continent  of  Afia,  where  we  have  not  been  fur- 
prifed  to  find  inhabitants,  why  then  fhould  we  won- 
der to  meet  with  people  in  America  !  Nor  can  it 
be  imagined  thai  the  grandfons  of  Noah,  when  they 
were  obliged  to  feparate,  and  fpread  themfelves  in 
conformity  to  the  defigns  of  God,  over  the  whole, 
earth,  mould  find  it  absolutely  impoflible  to  people 
almoft  one  half  of  it. 

I  Tiave  been  more  copious  in  my  extracts  from  this 
author  than  I  intended,  as  his  reafons  appears  to  be 
folid,  and  many  ef  his  obfervations  juft.  From  this 
encomium,  however,  I  muft  exclude  the  flories  he 
has  introduced  of  the  Huron  and  Floridan  women, 
which  I  think  I  might  venture  to  pronounce 
fabulous. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS, 


127 


I  fhall  only  add,  to  give  my  readers  a  more  com- 
preh^rifive  view  of  Monficur  Charlevoix's  differ- 
tation,  the  method  he  propofes  to  come  at  the  truth 
of  what  we  are  in  feach  of. 

The  only  means  by  which  this  can  be  done,  he 
fays  is  by  comparing  the  language  of-  the  Ameri- 
cans with  the  different  nations,  from  whence  we 
might  fuppofe  they  have  peregrinated.  If  we  com- 
pare the  former  with  thofe  words  that  are  confidered 
as  primitives,  it  might  poffibly  fet  us  upon  fome 
happy  difcovery.  And  this  way  of  afcending  to  the 
original  of  nations,  which  is  by  far  the  ieaft  equivo- 
cal, is  not  fo  difficult  as  might  be  imagined.  We 
have  had,  and  ftill  have,  travellers  and  miflionaries 
who  have  attained  the  languages  that  are  fpoken  in 
all  the  provinces  of  the  new  world ;  it  would  only 
be  neceffary  to  make  a  collection  of  their  grammars 
and  vocabularies,  and  to  collate  them  with  the  dead 
and  living  languages  of  the  old  world,  that  pafs  for 
originals,  and  the  fimilarity  might  eafily  be  traced. 
Even  the  different  dialects,  in  fpite  of  the  alterations 
they  have  undergone,  ftill  retain  enough  of  the 
mother  tongue  to  furnifh  confiderable  lights. 

Any  enquiry  into  the  manners,  cuftoms,  religion,  or 
traditions  of  the  Americans,  in  order  to  difcover  by 
that  means  their  origin,  he  thinks  would  prove  fal- 
lacious. A  difquifition  of  that  kind,  he  obferves,  is 
only  capable  of  producing  a  falfe  light,  more  likely 
to  dazzle,  and  to  make  us  wander  from  the  right 
path,  than  to  lead  us  with  certainty  to  the  point 
propofed. 

Ancient  traditions  are  effaced  from  the  minds  of 
fuch  as  either  have  not,  or  for  feveral  ages  have 
been  without  thofe  helps  that  are  neceffary  to  pre- 
ferve  them.     And  in  this  fituation  is  full  one  half  of 


I2S  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

the  world.  New  events,  and  a  new  arrangement 
of  things,  give  rife  to  new  traditions,  which  efface 
the  former,  and  are  themfelves  effaced  in  turn.  Af- 
ter one  or  two  centuries  have  parTed,  there  no 
longer  remains  any  traces  of  the  firft  traditions  ;  and 
thus  we  are  involved  in  a  ftate  of  uncertainty. 

He  concludes  with  the  following  remarks,  among 
many  others.  Unforefeen  accidents,  tempefts,  and 
fhipwrecks,have  certainly  contributed  to  people  every 
habitable  part  of  the  world  :  and  ought  we  to  won- 
der after  this,  at  perceiving  certain  refemblanccs, 
both  of  perfons  and  manners  between  nations  that  are 
mod  remote  from  each  other,  v/hen  we  find  fuch  a 
difference  between  thofe  that  border  on  one  another  ? 
As  we  are  deflitute  of  hiftorical  monuments,  there  is 
nothing,  I  repeat  it,  but  a  knowledge  of  the  primitive 
languages  that  is  capable  of  throwing  any  light 
upon  thefe  clouds  of  impenetrable  darknefs. 

By  this  enquiry  we  fhould  at  leaft  be  fatisfied,. 
among  that  prodigious  number  of  various  nations 
inhabiting  America,  and  differing  fo  much  in  lan- 
guages from  each  other,  which  are  thofe  who  make 
ufe  of  words  totally  and  entirely  different  from  thofe 
of  the  old  world,  and  who  confequently  mull:  be 
reckoned  to  have  paffed  over  to  America  in  the 
earlieft  ages,  and  thofe  who  from  the  analogy  of 
their  language  with  fuch  as  are  at  prefent  ufed  in  the 
three  other  parts  of  the  globe,  leave  room  to  judge 
that  their  migration  has  been  more  recent,  and  which 
ought  to  be  attributed  to  fhipwrecks,  or  to  fome  ac- 
cident fimilar  to  thofe  which  have  been  fpoken  of  in 
the  courfe  of  this  treatife. 

I  fhall  only  add  the  opinion  of  one  author  more, 
before  I  give  my  own  fentiments  on  the  fubjecl:,and 
that  is  of  James  Adair,Efq.  who  refided  forty  years 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


129 


among  the  Indians,  and  publiihed  the  hiftory  of 
th^flj  y}J&c,y$«[  l2J2:.  Ip  kis  learned  and  fyftema- 
ticai  hiftory  or  thole  nations,  inhabiting  the  wefxm 
parts  of  the  moll  fouthern  of  the  American  colo- 
nies; this  gentleman  without  he (1  cation  pronoun- 
ces that  the  American  Aborigines  are  defcended 
from  the  Israelites,  either  whilft  they  were  a  ma- 
ritime power,  or  foon  after  their  general  capti- 
vity. 

This  defcent  he  endeavours  to  prove  from  their 
religious  rites,  their  civil  and  martial  cuftoms,  their 
marriages,  their  funeral  ceremonies,  their  manners, 
language,  traditions,  and  from  a  variety  of  other 
particulars.  And  fo  complete  is  his  conviction  en' 
this  head,  that  he  fancies  he  finds  a  perfect  and 
indifputable  fimiiitude  in  each.  Through  all  thefe 
I  have  not  time  to  follow7  him,  and  mail  therefore 
only  give  a  few  extracts  to  (how  on  what  foundation 
he  builds  his'  conjectures,  and  what  degree  of  credit 
he  is  entitled  to  on  this  point. 

He  begins  with  obferving,  that  though  fome  have 
fjppofed  the  Americans  to  be  defcended  from  the 
Chinefe,  yet  neither  their  religion,  laws,  nor  cuf- 
toms agree  in  the  lead  with  thofe  of  the  Chinefe; 
which  fufficiently  proves  that  they  are  not-  of  this 
line.  Befides,  as  our  beft  mips  are  now  aimofl  half 
a  year  in  failing  for  China  (our  author  does  not  here 
recollect  that  this  is  from  a  high  northern  latitude, 
acrofs  the  Line,  and  then  back  again  greatly  to  the 
northward  of  it,  and  not  directly  athwart  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  for  only  one  hundred  and  eleven  degrees) 
or  from  thence  to  Europe,  it  is  very  unlikely  they 
mould  attempt  fuch  dangerous  difecveries,  with 
their  fuppofed  fmall  vefTels,  againft  rapid  currents, 
and  in  dark  and  fickly  Monfoons. 

R 


,3o  CARVER'S     T  R  A  V  SI  I: 

He  further  remarks,   that  this  is  more  particularly 

•  j  direct,  thefr  cm  rfr 

China,  he  fays,  is  abcyjt  eight  thgufand  milt!  dlf= 
tarit  from  the  American  continent,  which  i§  twtel  a§ 
far  as  acrbfs  the  A:hm:.ic  Ocean,  And  Wf  are  RQi 
informed  by  any  gftcicnt  writer  of"  their  maritime 
Ikillj  or  fo  much  as  any  inclination  thai;  way,  beude§: 
fmall  coalling  voyages.  The  winds  blow  likgl^if^j 
with  little  yariatioft  from  call  to  weft  tyi^hfi]  the  la- 
titudes thirty  and  odd,  north  and  fq\)t]]i  gnd  §fetrg= 
fore  thefe  could  not  drive  them  ^on  the  Aa^fi§aif 
coaft,  it  lying  directly  contrary  tg  fuel]  a  gOBffti 

Neither  could  perfo'ns,  according  tg  |hJ§  Wfil£??§ 
account,  fail  to  America  from  the  ncr^h  by  Ibi  W3^ 
of  Tartar/  or  Ancient  Scythia  :  that;  from  jfe  /Ufi*M 
tion,  never  having  been  or  can  be  a  maritime  power* 
r-nd  it  is  utteiiy  impracticable,-  lie  fays,  fof  any  %g 
■  come  to  America  by  tea  from  that  quarter.  B#M#§# 
the  remaining  traces  of  their  religions,  ceremonies? 
£nd  civil  and  martial  cuftoms,  are  quite  Qjrpqfjte  %q 
i\\t  like  vtMiges  of  the  Old  Scythians. 

Even  in  the  moderate  northern  dimgfe'5  ih$f$  U 
tioi  to  be  fcen  the  leaft  trace  of  any  gnQiitit  &&t$ly 
buildings,  or  of  any  thick  fettle  merits,  as,  aj-g  fgfcl 
to  remain  in  the  lefs  healthy  regions  of  J*€fU  ufid 
Mexico.  And  feveral  of  the  Indian  fi&tlQffi  s5llf£  U.sy 
t;at  ihey  croiled  the  Mi0&pp\  before  tky  Biadg 
their  prefent  northern  fcttlements  :  which,  COR* 
recced  with  the  former  ar~um-r:s,  he  conches  will 
JufTicientiy  explode  that  weak  c  pinion  qHIw  Attier'^ 
can  Aborigines  being  lint  ally  ^efeencled  from  dyf 
Tartars  or  ancient  Scvthians- 


£  A  k  V  E  R?  s     TRAVEi,  S. 

n  Aaau's  reafons  for  fuppofing  that  the  Ameri- 
|e.arl§  tit FiVg  thejf  origin. from  the  Jews  ire, 

Finr^  be.calife  they  are  divided  into  tribes  a:ia 
ghiefs  ofeHhern  as  the  Ifraeiir.es -had, 

;  SjEIOfldl^j  becaufe,  as  by  a  ftrici,  permanent,  di- 
yiiie  pfectpL?  the  Hebrew  nation  were  ordered  to 
^Qfflifft  at  JefUfateriij  Jehovah  the  true  and  living 
Gad3  lb  dO  the  Indians  filling  hini  Yohewam  The 
firlcienl:  ri^iUheiis,  he  adds^  it  is  well  known,  wcr- 
friippf^d  a^  plurality  of  gods,  but  the  Indians  pay 
£Heif  religions  devoirs  to  the  Great,  beneficient,  fu- 
pf^fflgj  nbly  Spirit  of  Fire,  who  re  fides,  as  they  think, 
jabrJVc  the  tldhdt,  and  on  earth  alfo  with  unpolluted 
p&pfjfei  ^  *fr\ey  VZV  no  adoration  to  images,  or  to 
flgad  perfori^  neither  to  the  celeftial  luminaries,  to 
f^ll  fcirits)  nor  to  any  created  beings  whatever. 

_  Thirdly  beeaufej  agreeable  to  the  theocracy  or 
diving  grjVgfflnieht  of  Ifrael,  the  Indians  think  the 
i)dhl  tt)  ht  the  immediate  head  of  their  itate. 

Fourthly  becaufe,  as  the  Jews  believe  in  the 
JftifiRtf&l&'ft  t)f  angels,  the  Indians  alio  believe  that 
the  higher"  regions  are  inhabited  by  good  fpirits. 

Fifthly,  becaufe,  the  Indian  language  and  dialects 
apgtpif  lb  hiye  the  very  idoms  and  genius  of  the 
H'eb\'-e\v:  Their  words  and  ienrences  being  ex- 
pffcSUfej  rjOP.'ciie3  emphatical,  fonorous,  and  bold  ; 
arid  Gftefij  both  in  letters*  and  fignifications,  arc 
tyrlrjftymoAis   With  the  Hebrew  language. 

oixthly*  beca'ufe,  they  count  their  time    after  the 
•if  iKt  Hebrews. 


I32 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


manner  of  the  Jews,  they  have  theirprophets,high- 
prieib,  and  ether  religious  orders. 

Eighthly,  becaufe  their  feftivals,  fails,  and  reli- 
gious rites  have  a  great  refcmblance  to  thole  of  the 

Hebrews. 

Ninthly,  becaufe  the  Indians,  before  they  go  to 
•war,  have  many  preparatory  ceremonies  of  purifi- 
cation and  failing,  like  what  is  recorded  of  the  Is- 
raelites, 

Tenthly,  becaufe  the  fame  tafte  for  ornaments, 
and  the  fame  kind,  are  made  ufe  of  by  the  Indians, 
as  by  the  Hebrews. 

Thefe  and  many  other  arguments  of  a  fimilar  na- 
ture, Mr.  Adair,  brings  in  iupport  of  his  favourite 
jyftemjbut  I  mould  imagine, that  if  the  Indians  are  real- 
ly derived  from  the  Hebrews,  among  their  religious 
ceremonies,  on  which  he  chiefly  feems  to  build  his 
hypothecs,  the  principal,  that  of  circumcifion,  would 
never  have  been  laid  afide,  and  its  very  remem- 
brance obliterated. 

Thus  numerous  and  diverfe  are  the  opinions  of 
thofe  who  have  hitherto  written  on  the  fubject  !  I 
fliall  not  however,  either  endeavour  to  reconcile 
them,  or  to  point  out  the  errors  of  each,  but  proceed 
to  give  my  own  fentiments  on  the  origin  of  the 
Americans  -,  which  are  founded  on  conclusions  drawn 
from  the  moft  rational  arguments  of  the  writers  I 
have  mentioned,  and  from  my  own  obfervations  ;  the 
confiftency  of  thefe  I  mail  leave  to  the  judgement  of 
my  readers, 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  133 

The  better  to  introduce  my  conjectures  on  this 
head,  it  is  neceffary  firft  to  afcertain  the  diflances 
between  America  and  thofe  parts  of  the  habitable 
globe  that  approach  neareft  to  it. 

The  Continent  of  America,  as  far  as  we  can  judge 
from  all  the  refearches  that  have  been  made  near  the 
poles,  appears  to  be  entirely  feparated  from  the 
other  quarters  of  the  world.  That  part  of  Europe 
which  approaches  neareft  to  it,  is  the  coaft  of  Green- 
land, lying  in  about  feventy  degrees  of  north  lati- 
tude j  ana  which  reaches  within  twelve  degrees  of 
the  coaft  of  Labrador,  fituated  on  the  north-eaft  bor- 
ders of  this  continent.  The  coaft  of  Guinea  is  the 
neareft  part  of  Africa  ;  which  lies  about  eighteen 
hundred  and  fixty  miles  north-eaft  from  the  Brazils. 
The  moil  eaftern  coaft  of  Afia  which  extends  to 
the  Korean  Sea  on  the  north  of  China  projects  north- 
eaft  through  eaftern  Tartar/ and  Kamfchatka  to  Si- 
beria, in  about  fixty  degrees  of  north  latitude.  To- 
wards which  the  weftern  coaits  of  America,  from 
California  to  the  Straits  of  Annian,  extend  nearly 
north-weft,  and  lie  in  about  forty-fix  degrees  of  the 
fame  latitude. 

"Whether  the  Continent  of  America  ftretches  any 
farther  north  than  thefe  ftraits,  and  joins  to  the  eaf- 
tern parts  of  Afia,  agreeable  to  what  has  been  aiTert- 
ed  by  fome  of  the  writers  I  have  quoted,  or  whether 
the  lands  that  have  been  difcovered  in  the  interme- 
diate parts  are  only  an  archipelago  of  iflands,  verging 
towards  the  oppofite  continent,  is  not  yet  ascer- 
tained. 

It  being,  however,  certain  that  there  are  many 
confiderable  ifiands  which  lie  between  the  extremities 
of  Afia  and  America,  viz.  Japan  JefTo  or  Jedfo, 
Gama's  Land,  Behring's  Ifie,  with  many  others  dif- 


I|4  eAiiVE^s   f  RAVf  | 

itcl  o3>;    Trcaiflkowj    and   b€i1^§    fhefej  $681 

■  -  north  theft  plating §a  bt  % elufifeef  ef 

ingritis  t'ft|t  ftd:!i  |S  far   a\i   SlBeFifc    iE  Is  pfObgSlJ 

iP.-irj r^rriitv  R)  Arii€5-iea,  &gt  i|  received  it? 
fl  them: 


}1iifl5fi  Is  the  fric.  i^l  I  ani  able  £g 

:  ph^i  fiflee  the  AMHgihes  gbr.  {bbf: 


■\-g  ti  pfglent  Ufl|e~ 

ii  ipgiifS  jtlgnS}1  improbable  that  it  fiiould 

lid:      Fi-tirT]    ftg 

.  ;g  lift  8f  »h  theft  pjfly  i 

gQRipafs]  It  cdhfiot  be"  lupl 

^tfmfti&I  --i  [8   feaifh   of  tij 

Lftt|jij3{f-di  or 

^celeicmAlIy  peopled  f 
■'  [gl  -  ftfeij 

gfiVefi  by  Il^ihg  e?.  kPiv  Winds  rvcrbfs  the  M= 
6-tggfS  hUil!  til  hiied  fori^r:  :■- 

Trbrh  v 
hc'diict:.  it  by  the 

giiii .  .  6Ut:  Ie  aijb  a£p*a?s 

aienkift'ai 

icrrie5  and  ihtde  from  fliftl 
.  Up  ::  ihe   rnbS:  eFitlcSl  e~qlrU 

ii\m& apHBeiittidftj  lam  §f  opiates* 

Hl&t  AflieHH  revived;  it§  BFtl:  inhabitants  frbffl  fcltf 

i-?a&j  by  way  8f  the  gh. 


f  %  A  V  F  T    ° 

**  ....  *?  *■*  ^  i a.uti-y3  Cliis^  Japan,  qf 
Kaiincnu:y,  j^  inhakiiaBkf  pf  ifaeft  p}£ee§  re--- 

bling  g^h  Qefer  in  gatey^  fe&y%?  arid  ftiape* 
&nd  who,  befere  fefte  $  t)i£#i  a$pifrs§JHtf  a 
k'dg€  pf  the  an§  *n4  fctejjfessj  ttigfti  havi  ft) 

.r-bivs  ea£b  6 -;.•<;?  la  iftefc  fi#Rfis*§*J  g^f; 

ihd  the  TgjtdFs  fe$  if?  &e  m}w$W&  £&S6  6f  FfM? 
en$  30^  tbf  BnfisBJferf  £&a3F&  boN  &$**& 

the  Ja:tcr  J;r^  eh^?Sy   m  ftflfe,  &nrf  rpy£  |f$&  & 


fck  6f  feffii  efeiffl  fc^fek  &&  9fe<>fiQ8Pfti  ft  — 

f|  j§  i?€?y  f H&&  fet  foap  .of  ft 

fisgre  &F3?  frig  *fe  fe  tibt  a  vm  &mti$  9F&i  i: 

*7gf3  fc&^-fn^^Tarcai-sandfhe  jgfeftjpfe  g  par:  gf 

the  j<)H$b;tanrc  c:  z:t~  f&fffigffl  prptf  ir^  s  $  "ore  c^i^g 

kund  ffeif  $$f  i?$g  &m?k&  kt  dW^m4  pstfcty 


13&  CARVER's    TRAVELS. 

ro  all  thefe  peopla*  aitfi.tjbat  animo&$&  ^hi^exifb 
between  fo  many  of  their  tribes. 

It  appears  plainly  to  me  that  a  great  fimilarity  be- 
tween the  Indians  and  Chinefe  is  confpicuous  in  tha: 
particular  cuftom  of  (having  or  plucking  off  the 
hair,  and  leaving  only  a  fmall  turf  on  the  crown  of 
the  head.  This  mode  is  faid  to  have  been  enjoined 
by  the  Tartarian  emperors  on  their  acceflion  to  the 
throne  of  China,  and  confequently  is  a  farther  proof 
that  this  cuftom  was  in  the  ufe  among  the  Tartars ; 
to  whom  as  well  as  the  Chinefe,  the  Americans  might 
be  indebted  for  it. 

Many  words  alfo  are  ufed  both  by  the  Chinefe 
and  Indians,  which  have  a  refemblance  to  each  other, 
not  only  in  their  found,  but  their  fignihcation.  The 
Chinefe  call  a  flave,  fhungo;  and  the  Naudoweflie 
Indians,  whofe  language,  from  their  little  inter- 
courfe  with  the  Europeans,  is  the  lead  corrupted, 
term  a  dog,  fhungufh.  The  former  denominate 
one  fpecies  of  their  tea,  fhoufong;  the  latter  call 
their  tobacco,  fhoufafTau.  Many  other  of  the  words 
ufed  by  the  Indians  contain  the  fyllables  che,  enaw, 
and  chu,  after  the  dialect  of  the  Chinefe. 

There  probably  might  be  found  a  fimilar  connec- 
tion between  the  language  of  the  Tartars  and  the 
American  Aborigines,  were  we  as  well  acquainted 
with  it  as  we  are,  from  a  commercial  intercourfe, 
with  that  of  the  Chinefe. 

I  am  confirmed  in  thefe  conjectures,  by  the  ac- 
counts of  Kamfchatka,  published  a  few  years  ago 
by  order  of  the  Emprefs  of  Ruilia.  The  author  of 
which  fays,  that  the  fea  which  divides  that  peninfula 
from  America  is  full  of  iflamfc :  and  that  the  diftance 
between  Tfchukotfkoi-Nofs,  a  promontory  which 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  ,37 

lies  at  the  eaftern  extremity  of  that  country,  and  the 
coaft  of  America,  is  not  more  than  two  degrees  and 
a  half  of  a  great  circle.  He  further  fays,  that  there 
is  the  greatciL  reafon  to  fuppofe  that  Afia  and  Ame- 
rica once  joined  at  this  place,  as  the  coafts  of  both 
continents  appear  to  have  been  broken  into  capes 
and  bays,  which  anfwer  each  other,  more  efpeci- 
ally  as  the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  both  refem- 
ble  each  other  in  their  perfons,  habits.,  cuftoms, 
and  food.  Their  language,  indeed,  he  obferves, 
does  not  appear  to  be  the  fame,  but  then  the  inha- 
bitants of  each  diftricl:  in  Kamfchatka  fpeak  a  lan- 
guage as  different  from  each  other,  as  from  that 
fpoken  on  the  oppofite  coaft.  Thefe  observations* 
to  which  he  adds,  the  fimiliarity  of  the  boats  of  the 
inhabitants  of  each  coaft,  and  a  remark  that  the  na- 
tives of  this  part  of  America  are  wholly  Arrangers  to 
?vine  and  tobacco,  which  he  looks  upon  as  a  proof 
that  they  have  as  yet  had  no  communication  with  the 
natives  of  Europe,  he  fays,  amount  to  little  lefs  than 
ademonftration  that  America  was  peopled  from  this 
part  of  Afia. 

The  limits  of  my  prefent  undertaking  will  not 
permit  me  to  dwell  any  longer  on  this  fubjecl,  or  to 
enumerate  any  other  proofs  in  favour  of  my  hypo- 
thefis.  I  am,  however,  id  thoroughly  convinced 
of  the  certainty  of  it,  and  fo  de (irons  have  I  been  to 
obtain  every  teftimony  which  can  be  procured  in  its 
fupport,  that  I  once  made  an  offer  to  a  private  fo- 
ciety  of  gentlemen,  who  were  curious  in  fuch  re- 
fearches,  and  to  whom  I  had  communicated  my  fen- 
timents  on  this  point,  that  I  would  undertake  a  jour- 
ney, on  receiving  fuch  fupplies  as  were  needful, 
through  the  north- eaft  part  of  Europe  and  Afia  to 
the  interior  parts  of  America,  arid  from  thence  to 
England i  making,  as  J  proceeded,  fuch  obferva- 


j38  C  A  R  V  E  R'jf     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

tions  both  on  the  languages  and  manners  of  the  people 
with  whom  I  fhould  be  converfant,  as  might  tend  to 
iiluftrate  the  doctrine  I  have  here  laid  down,  and  to 
fatisfy  the  curiofity  of  the  learned  or  inquifitive .; 
but  as  this  propofal  was  judged  rather  to  require  a 
national  than  a  private  fupport,  it  was  not  carried 
into  execution. 

I  am  happy  to  find,  fince  I  formed  the  foregoing 
conclufions,  that  they  correfpond  with  the  lenti- 
ments  of  that  great  and  learned  hiftonan,  doctor 
Robertfon;  and  though  with  him,  I  acknowledge 
that  the  inveftigatibn,  from  its  nature,  is  fo  obfeure 
and  intricate,  that  the  conjectures  I  have  made  can 
only  be  confidexed  as  conjectures,  and  not  indifpu- 
table  conclufions,  yet  they  carry  with  them  a  grea- 
ter degree  of  probability  than  the  fuppolitions  of 
thofe  who  after  t  that  this  continent  was  peopled  from 
another  quarter. 

One  of  the  Doctor's  quotations  from  the  Jour- 
nals of  Behring  and  Tfchirikow,  who  failed  from 
Kamfchatka,  about  the  year  1741,  inqueftofthe 
New  World,  appears  to  carry  great  weight  with  it, 
and  to  afford  our  conclufions  firm  fupport:  "  Thefe 
f€  commanders  having  fhaped  their  courfe  towards 
cc  the  eaft,  difcovered  land,  which  to  them  appeared 
:c  to  be  part  of  the  American  continent;  and  ac- 
fc  cording  to  their  obfervations,  it  feems  to  be  fitu- 
<c  ated  within  a  few  degrees  of  the  north-weft  coaft 
'c  of  California.  They  had  there  fome  intercourfe 
<c  with  the  inhabitants,  who  feemed  to  them  to  re- 
-c  femble  the  North- Americans ;  as  they  prefented 
u  to  the  Ruffians  the  Calumet  or  Pipe  of  Peace, 
il  which  is  a  fymbol  of  friendlbip  univerfal  among 
:c  the  people  of  North-America,  and  an  ufage  of 
u  arbitrary  inftitution  peculiar  to  them." 


CARVER's     T  R  A  V  B  L  S.  ift 

One  of  this  incomparable  writer's  own  arguments 
infupport  of  his  hypothefis,  is  alfo  urged  with  great 
judgment,  and  appears  to  be  nearly  conclufive.  He 
'ays,  "  We  may  lay  it  down  as  a  certain  principle 
c  in  this  enquiry,  that  America  was  not  pec- 
c  pled  by  any  nation  of  the  ancient  continent,  which 
c  had  made  confiderable  progrefs  in  civilization. 
c  The  inhabitants  of  the  New  World  were  in  a 
c  ftate  of  fociety  fo  extremely  rude,  as  to  be  un- 
c  acquainted  with  thofe  arts  which  are  the  rirfc  cf- 
c  fays  of  human  ingenuity  in  its  advance  towards 
c  improvement.  Even  the  moft  cultivated  nations 
c  of  America  were  (Irangers  to  many  of  thofe  fim- 
c  pie  inventions,  which  were  almofl  coeval  with 
c  fociety  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  and  were 
c  known  in  the  earlieft  periods  of  civil  life.  From 
c  this  it  is  manifeft  that  the  tribes  which  originally 
c  migrated  to  America,  came  off  from  nations 
c  which  mnft  have  been  no  lefs  barbarous  than  their 
i  pofterity,  at  the  time  when  they  were  firft  dif- 
-  covered  by  the  Europeans.  If  ever  the  ufe  of 
c  iron  had  been  known  to  the  favages  of  America, 
c  or  to  their  progenitors,  if  ever  they  had  employed 
c  a  plough,  a  loom,  or  a  forge,  the  utility  of  thefe 

inventions  would  have  preferved  them,  and  it  is 

impoflible  that  they  mould  have  been  abandoned 

or  forgotten." 


4-q 


CARVER'S  TRAVELS, 


CHAPTER  II 


Of  their  Perjons,    Brej's,  i£c. 


h  ROM  the  ftrft  fcttlement  of  the  French 
in  Canada,  to  the  conqueft  of  it  by  the  Englifh  in 
1760,  feveral  of  that  nation,  who  had  travelled  into 
the  interior  parts  of  North- America,  either  to  trade 
with  the  Indians,  or  to  endeavour  to  make  converts 
of  them,  have  publifhed  accounts  of  their  ctiftoms, 
manners,  &c. 

The  principal  of  thefe  are  Father  Louis  Henni- 
pin,  Monf.  Charlevoix,  and  the  Baron  Le  Honton. 
The  fir  ft,  many  years  ago,  publifhed  feme  very 
judicious  remarks,  which  he  was  the  better  enabled 
to  do  by  the  affiftance  he  received  from  the  maps 
and  diaries  of  the  unfortunate  M.  De  la  Salle,  who 
was  afifaffinated  whilft  he  was  on  his  travels,  by  fome 
of  his  own  party.  That  gentleman's  journals  falling 
into  Father  Hennipin's  hands,  he  was  enabled  by 
them  to  publifn  many  interefting  particulars  relative 
to  the  Indians.  But  in  fome  refpects  he  fell  very 
fhort  of  that  knowledge  which  it  was  in  his  power 
to  have  attained  from  his  long  refidence  among  them, 
Nor  was  he  always  (as  has  been  already  obferved) 
exact  in  his  calculations,  or  juft  in  the  intelligence  he 
has  given  us. 

The  accounts  publifhed  by  the  other  two,  parti- 
cularly thofe  of  Charlevoix,  are  very  erroneous  in 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  Hi 

die  geographical  parts,  and  many  of  the  ftories  told 
by  the  Baron  are  mere  delufions. 

Some  of  the  Jefuits,  who  heretofore  travelled  into 
thefe  parts,  have  alfo  written  on  this  fubject;  bur 
as  few,  if  any,  of  their  works  have  been  tranllated 
into  the  Englifh  language,  the  generality  of  readers 
are  not  benefited  by  them;  and,  indeed,  had  this 
been  done,  they  would  have  reaped  but  few  ad- 
vantages from  them,  as  they  have  chiefly  confined 
their'obfervations  to  the  religious  principles  of  the 
favages,  and  the  freps  taken  for  their  converfion. 

Since  the  conqueft  of  Canada,  fome  of  our  own 
countrymen,  who  have  lived  among  the  Indians, 
and  learned  their  language,  have  publifhed  their 
obfervations;  however  as  their  travels  have  not 
extended  to  any  of  the  interior  parts  I  treat  of, 
but  have  only  been  made  among  the  nations  than 
border  on  our  fettlements,  a  knowledge  of  the 
genuine  and  uncontaminated  cuftoms  and  man- 
ners of  the  Indians  could  not  have  been  acquired  bv 
them. 

The  fouthern  tribes,  and  thofe  that  have  held  a 
conftant  intercourfe  with  the  French  or  Engliih^ 
cannot  have  preferved  their  manners  or  their  cuftoms-. 
in  their  original  purity.  They  could  not  avoid 
acquiring  the  vices  with  the  language  of  thofe  they 
converfed  with;  and  the  frequent  intoxications  they 
experienced  through  the  baneful  juices  introduced 
among  them  by  the  Europeans,  have  completed  a 
total  alteration  in  their  characters. 

In  fuch  as  thefe,  a  confufed  medley  of  principle: 
or  ufages  are  only  to  be  obferved;  their  real  and 
unpolluted  cuftoms  could  be  ieen  among  thofe  na- 
tions alone  that  have   held  but  little  communicatior 


H2  CARVER'j     TRAVELS.      ■ 

with  the  provinces.  Thefe  I  found  in  the  north - 
weft  parts,  and  therefore  flatter  myfelf  that  I  am 
able  to  give  a  more  juft  account  of  the  cuftoms  and 
manners  of  the  Indians,  in  their  ancient  purity,  than 
any  that  has  been  hitherto  publifhed.  I  have  nade 
oblervations  on  thirty  nations,  and  though  mod  of 
thefe  have  differed  in  their  languages,  there  has  ap- 
peared a  great  limiiarity  in  their  manners,  and 
from  thefe  have  I  endeavoured  to  extract  the  follow- 
ing remarks. 

As  I  do  not  propofe  to  give  a  regular  and  con- 
nected fyftem  of  Indian  concerns,  but  only  to  re- 
late fuch  particulars  of  their  manners,  cuftoms,  &:c. 
as  I  thought  mo  ft  worthy  of  notice,  and  which  in- 
terfere as  little  as  poiTible  with  the  accounts  given 
by  other  writers,  I  muft  beg  my  readers  to  excufe 
their  not  being  arranged  fyfte  maticaily,  or  treated 
of  in  a  more  copious  manner. 

The  Indian  nations  do  not  appear  to  me  to  differ 
fo  widely  in  their  make,  colour,  or  conftitution 
from  each  other,  as  reprefented  by  fome  writers. 
They  are  in  general  flight  made,  rather  tall  and 
ftraight,  and  you  feldom  fee  any  among  them  de- 
formed; their  fkin  is  of  a  reddiih  or  copper  colour; 
their  eyes  are  large  and  black,  and  their  hair  of  the 
fame  hue,  but  very  rarely  is  it  curled ;  they  have 
good  teeth,  and  their  breath  is  as  fweet  as  the  air 
they  draw  in;  their  cheek-bones  rather  raifed,  but 
more  fo  in  the  women  than  the  men;  and  the  for- 
mer are  not  quite  fo  tall  as  the  European  women, 
however  you  frequently  meet  with  good  faces  and 
agreeable  perfons  among  them,  although  they  are 
more  inclined  to  be  fat  than  the  other  fex. 

I  fhall  not  enter  into  a  particular  enquiry  whether 
the  Indians  are  indebted  to  nature,  art,  or  the  tern- 


CARVER's    TRAVELS. 


43 


pCrature  of  the  climate  for  the  colour  of  their  fkin, 
nor  fhall  I  quote  any  of  the  contradictory  accounts  I 
have  read  on  this  fubjecl  j  I  fhall  only  fay,  that  it  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  the  tincture  they  received  origi- 
nally from  the  hands  of  their  creator;  but  at  what 
period  the  variation  which  is  at  prefent  vifible,  both 
in  the  complexion  and  features  of  many  nations  took 
place,  at  what  time  the  European  whitenefs,  the 
jetty  hue  of  the  African,  or  the  copper  cart  of  the 
American  were  given  them;  which  was  the  original 
colour  o.f  the  firft  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  or  which 
might  be  efteemed  the  moil  perfect,  I  will  not  pre- 
tend to  determine. 

Many  writers  have  alTerted,  that  the  Indians, 
even  at  the  matureft  period  of  their  exiftence,  are 
only  furnifhed  with  hair  on  their  heads;  and  that 
notwithstanding  the  profufion  with  which  that  part 
is  covered,  thefe  parts  which  among  the  inhabitants 
of  other  climates  are  ufually  the  feat  of  this  excref- 
cence,  remain  entirely  free  from  it.  Even  Doctor 
Robertfon,  through  their  mifreprefentations,  has 
contributed  to  propagate  the  error;  and  fuppofing 
the  remark  juftly  founded,  has  drawn  feveral  con- 
ciufions  from  it  relative  to  the  habit  and  tempera- 
ture of  their  bodies,  which  are  confequently  inva- 
lid. But  from  minute  enquiries,  and  a  curious  in- 
flection, I  am  able  to  declare  (however  refpectable 
I  may  hold  the  authority  of  thefe  hiftorians  in  other 
points)  that  their  aiTertions  are  erroneous,  and  pro- 
ceeding from  the  want  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  cuftoms  of  the  Indians. 

After  the  age  of  puberty,  their  bodies,  in  their 
natural  itate,  are  covered  in  the  fame  manner  as 
thofe  of  the  Europeans.  The  men,  indeed,  eflecm 
a  beard  very  unbecoming,  and  take  great  pains  to 
get  rid  of  it,  nor  is  there  any  ever  to   be  perceived 


« 4+ 


CARVER's    TRAVELS. 


on  their  faces,  except  when  they  grow  old,  and 
become  inattentive  to  their  appearance.  Every 
crinofe  efrlorefcence  on  the  other  parts  of  the  body 
is  held  unfcemly  by  them,  and  both  fexes  employ 
much  time  in  their  extirpation. 

The  Naudoweffies,  and  the  remote  nations,  pluck 
them  out  with  bent  pieces  of  hard  wood,  formed 
into  a  kind  of  nippers  ;  whilft  thofe  who  have  com- 
munication with  Europeans  procure  from  them  wire, 
which  they  twift  inco  a  fcrew  or  worm;  applying 
this  to  the  part,  they  prefs  the  rings  together,  and 
with  a  fudden  twitch  draw  out  ail  the  hairs  that  arc 
inclofed  between  them. 

The  men  of  every  nation  differ  in  their  drefs  very 
little  from  each  other,  except  thofe  who  trade  with 
the  Europeans;  thefe  exchange  their  furs  for  blan- 
kets, fhirts,  and  other  apparel,  which  they  wear  as 
much  for  ornament  as  neceffity.  The  latter  faften 
by  a  girdle  around  their  waifts  about  half  a  yard  of 
broad  cloth,  which  covers  the  middle  parts  of  their 
bodies.  Thofe  who  wear  fhirts  never  make  them 
faft  either  at  the  wrift  or  collar;  this  would  be  a 
moll  infufferable  confinement  to  them.  They  throw 
their  blanket  loofe  upon  their  moulders,  and  hold- 
ing the  upper  fide  of  it  by  the  two  corners,  with  a 
knife  in  one  hand,  and  a  tobacco  pouch,  pipe,  &c. 
in  the  other;  thus  accoutred  they  "walk  about  in 
their  villages  or  camps;  but  in  their  dances  they 
feldom  wear  this  covering. 

Thofe  among  the  men  who  wifh  to  appear  gayer 
than  the  reft,  pluck  from  their  heads  all  the  hair, 
except  from  a  fpot  on  the  top  of  it,  about  the  fize  of 
a  crown  piece,  where  it  is  permitted  to  grow  to  a 
confiderable  length:  on  this  are  faftened  plumes  of 
feathers  of  various  colours,    with  friver   or   ivorf 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  H5 

quills.  The  manner  of  cutting  and  ornamenting 
tnis  part  of  the  head  diftinguiihes  different  nations 
from  each  other. 

They  paint  their  faces  red  and  black,  which  they 
cfleem  as  greatly  ornamental.  They  aifo  paint 
themfcives  when  they  go  to  war  ;  but  the  method 
they  make  uie  of  on  this  occalion  differs  from  that 
wherein  they  ufe  it  merely  as  a  decoration. 

The  young  Indians,  who  are  defirous  of  excelling 
their  companions  in  finery,  flit  the  outward  rim 
of  both  their  ears  -,  at  the  fame  time  they  take 
care  not  to  feparate  them  entirely,  but  leave  the 
rlem  thus  cut,  itill  untouched  at  both  extremities  : 
around  this  fpongy  fubtlance,  from  the  upper  to  the 
lower  part,  they  twill  brafs  wire,  till  the  weighc 
draws  the  amputated  rim  into  a  bow  of  five  or  fix 
inches  diameter,  and  drags  it  almoft  down  to  the 
(boulder.  This  decoration  is  eileemed  to  be  excef- 
fively  gay  and  becoming. 

It  is  alio  a  common  cuflom  among  them  to  bore 
their  nofes,  and  wear  in  them  pendants  of  different 
forts.  I  obferved  that  fea  (hells  were  much  worn  by 
thole  of  the  interior  parts,  and  reckoned  very  orna- 
mental ;  but  how  they  procure  them  I  could  not 
learn  ;  probably  by  their  traffic  with  other  nations 
nearer  the  fea. 

They  go  without  any  covering  for  the  thigh,  ex- 
cept that  before  fpoken  of,  round  the  middle,  which 
reaches  down  halfway  the  thighs  -,  but  they  make 
for  their  legs  a  fort  of  flocking,  either  of  jkins  of 
cloth  ;  thefe  are  fewecl  as  near  to  the  fhape  of  the  leg 
as  pofiible,  fo  as  to  admit  of  being  drawn  on  and  oft. 
The  edges  of  the  fluff  of  v/hich   they  are   compofed 

T 


146  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

are  left  annexed  to  the  Team,  and  hang  loofe  for 
about  the  breadth  of  a  hand  ;  and  this  part  which  is 
placed  on  the  outfide  of  the  leg,  is  generally  orna-, 
mented  by  thole  who  have  any  communication  with 
Europeans,  it*  of  cloth  with  ribands  or  lace,  if  of 
leather,  with  embroidery  and  porcupine  quills  cu- 
rioufiy  coloured.  Stangers  who  hunt  among  the  In- 
dians, in  the  parts  where  there  is  a  great  deal  of  fnow, 
rind  thefe  blockings  much  more  convenient  than  any 
others. 

Their  fhoes  are  made  of  the  fkin  of  the  deer,  elk, 
or  buffalo  :  thefe,  after  being  fometimes  drefled 
according  to  the  European  manner,  at  others  with 
the  hair  remaining  on  them,  are  cut  into  fhoes,  and 
fafhioned  fo  as  to  be  eafyto  the  feet,  and  convenient 
for  walking.  The  edges  round  the  ancle  are  de- 
corated with  pieces  of  brafs  or  tin  fixed  around  lea- 
ther ftrings,  about  an  inch  long,  which  being  placed 
very  thick,  make  a  cheerful  tinkling  noife  either 
when  they  walk  or  dance. 

The  women  wear  a  covering  of  fome  kind  or 
other  from  the  neck  to  the  knees.  Thofe  v/ho 
rrade  with  the  Europeans  wear  a  linen  garment,  the 
fame  as  that  ufed  by  the  men;  the  flaps  of  which 
hang  over  the  petticoat.  Such  as  drefs  after  their 
ancient  manner,  make  a  kind  of  fhift  with  leather, 
which  covers  the  body  but  not  the  arms.  Their 
petticoats  are  made  either  of  leather  or  cloth,  and 
reach  from  the  waift  to  the  knee.  On  their  legs 
they  w<  ar  fiockings  and  fhoes,  made  and  ornamented 
as  thofe  of  the  men. 

They  differ  from  each  other  in  the  mode  of  dref- 
fing  their  heads,  each  following  the  cuftorn  of  the 
nation  or  band  to  which  they  belong,  and    adhering 


C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVELS. 


m 


to  the  form  made  ufe  of  by  their  anceftors  from  time 
immemorial. 

I  remarked  that  moa  of  the  females,  who  dwell 
on  the  eaft  fide  of  the  Miffifllppi,  decorate  their 
heads  by  inclofing  their  hair  either  in  ribands,  or  in 
plates  of  filver;  the  latter  is  only  made  ufe  of  by  the 
higher  ranks,  as  it  is  a  coftly  ornament.  The  filvcr 
they  ufe  on  this  occafion,  is  formed  into  thin  plates 
of  about  four  inches  broad,  in  feveral  of  which  they 
confine  their  hair.  That  plate  which  is  nearer!  the 
head  is  of  a  confiderabie  width ;  the  next  narrower, 
and  made  fo  as  to  pafs  a  little  way  under  the  other, 
and  in  this  manner  they  faften  into  each  other,  and 
gradually  tapering,  defcend  to  the  waiir.  The  hair 
of  the  Indian  women  being  in  general  verv  long,  this. 
proves  an  expenfive  method. 

But  the  women  that  live  to  the  weft  of  the  MlfTrf- 
iippi,  viz.  the  NaudowefTies,  the  Aflinipoils,  &c.  di- 
vide their  hair  in  the  middle  of  their  head,  and  form 
it  into  two  rolls,  one  againit  each  ear.  Thefe  rolls 
are  about  three  inches  long,  and  as  large  as  their 
wrifes.  They  hang  in  a  perpendicular  attitude  a: 
the  front  of  each  ear,  and  defcend  as  far  as  the  lower 
part  of  it. 

The  women  of  every  nation  generally  place  a  fpot 
of  paint,  about  the  fize  of  a  crown-piece,  againft 
each  ear  ;  fome  of  them  put  paint  on  their  hair,  and 
fometimes  a  fmall  fpot  in  the  middle  of  the  forehead. 

The  Indians,  in  general,  pay  a  greater  attention  ,co 
their -refs,  and  to  the  ornaments  with  which  they* 
decorate  their  perfons,  than  to  the  accommodation 
of  their  huts  or  tents.  They  conrtrucc  the  latter  in 
the  following  fimple  and  expeditious  manner. 


i43  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

Being  provided  with  poles  of  a  proper  length, 
they  railen  two  of  them  acrofs,  near  their  ends,  with 
bands  made  of  bark.  Having  done  this,  they  raife 
them  up,  and  extend  the  bottom  cf  each  as  wide  as 
they  propofe  to  make  the  area  of  the  tent :  they  then 
erect  others  of  an  equal  height,  and  fix  them  fo  as 
to  fupport  the  two  principal  ones.  On  the  whole 
they  lay  fkins  of  the  elk  or  deer,  fewed  together,  in 
quantity  fufficieru;  to  cover  the  poles,  and  by  lap- 
ping over  to  form  the  door.  A  great  number  ot 
fkins  are  fometimes  required  for  this  purpofe,  as 
fome  of  their  tents  are  very  caoacious.  That  of  the 
chief  warrior  of  the  Naudowefiles  was  at  leaft  forty 
feet  in  circu  inference,  and  very  commodious. 

They  obferve  no  regularity  in  fixing  their  tents 
when  they  encamp,  but  place  them  juft  as  it  luits 
their  cenveniency. 

The  huts  alfo,  which,   thefe   who  ufe  not  tents, 
:  when  they  travel,  for  very  few  tribes  have  fix- 
:odes,  or  regular  towns,  or  villages,  are  equally 
fimptej  and  aimed  as  foon  ccnflructed. 

They  fix  fmall  pliable  poles  in  the  ground,  and 
bending  them  till  they  meet  at  the  top  and  form  a 
femi-circle,  then  lain  them  together.  Thefe  they 
cover  with  mats  made  of  rufhes  platted,  or  with  birch 
bark,  which  they  carry  with  them  in  their  canoes 
lor  that  purpofe. 

Thefe  cabins  have  nehh^r  chimnies  nor  windows ; 

there  is  only  a  fmall  aperture  left  in  the  middle  of  the 

•  through  which  the  fmoke  is  difcharged,  but  as 

^obliged  to  be  fl:cppedup when  itrains  orfnows 

violently,  the  fmoke  then  proves  exceedingly  trouble - 


C  A  R  V  E  R's    TRAVELS. 


49 


They  lie  on  fkin  ,  generally  thofe  of  the  bear, 
which  are  placed  in  rows  on  the  ground  ;  and  if  the 
floor  is  not  large  enough  to  contain  be  s  (ufficient 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  whole  family,  a  frame 
is  erecle  i  about  four  or  five  feet  from  the  ground  in 
which  the  younger  part  of  it  fleep. 

As  the  habitations  of  the  "ndians  are  thus  rude, 
their  domeftic  utenfils  are  few  in  number,  and  p'ain 
in  their  formation,  i  he  tools  wherewith  they  fafhion 
them  are  fo  aukwarc!  and  defective,  that  it  is  not  only 
impofiible  to  form  them  with  any  degree  of  neatnefs 
or  elegance,  but  the  time  required  in  the  execution 
is  fo  considerable,  as  to  deter  them  from  engaging  in 
the  manufacture  of  fuch  as  are  not  abfolutely  necef- 
iarv. 

-  The  Naudoweflies  make  the  pots  in  which  they 
boil  their  victuals  of  the  black  clay  or  ftone  mention- 
ed in  my  journal  :  which  refills  the  effects  of  fire, 
nearly  as  well  as  iron.  When  they  ro?lr.,  if  it  is  a 
large  joint,  or  a  whole  animal,  fuch  as  a  beaver,  they 
fix  it  as  Europeans  do,  on  a  fpit  made  of  a  hardwood, 
and  placing  the  ends  on  two  forked  preps,  now  and 
then  turn  it.  If  the  piece  is  fmaller  they  fplit  it  as 
before,  and  fixing  the  fpit  in  an  erect  but  fianting  po- 
rtion, with  the  meat  inclining  towards  the  fire,  fre- 
quently change  the  fides,  till  every  part  is  fuflkient'y 
roafted. 

They  make  their  cliihes  in  which  they  ferve  up 
their  meac,  and  their  bowls  and  pans,  out  of  the 
knotty  excreiences  of  the  maple-tree,  or  any  other 
wood.  Theyfafnion  their  fpdons  with  a  tolerable 
degree  cf  neatnefs  (as  thefe  require  much  lefs  trouble, 
than  large  utenfils)  from  a  twcoi  that  is  termed  in 
America  Spoon Wood^  and  which  greatly  referable^ 
t>nx  wood. 


i5©  CARVERS     TRAVELS. 

Every  tribe  are  nowpcrTefTed  of  knives,  and  fteeis 
to  ftrike  fire  with.  Thefe  being  To  efTentiaily  need- 
ful for  the  common  ufes  of  life,  thofe  who  have  not 
an  immediate  communication  with  the  European 
traders,  purchafe  them  of  iuch  of  their  neighbours  as 
are  fituated  nearer  the  fettlements^and  generally  give 
in  exchange  for  them  flaves. 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 


*5 


CHAPTER     III. 


Of  their  Manners,   Qualifications.  &c . 

VV  HEN  the  Indian  women  fit  down,  they  place 
themfelves  in  a  decent  attitude,  with  their  knees 
clofe -together;  but  from  being  accuftomed  to  this 
pofhire,  they  walk  badly,  and  appear  to  be  lame. 

They  have  no  midwives  among  them,  their  cli- 
mate, or  fome  peculiar  happinefs  in  their  conftitu* 
tions,  rendering  affiftance  at  that  time  unnecefTary. 
On  thefe  occafions  they  are  confined  but  a  few  hours 
from  their  ufual  employments,  which  are  common- 
ly very  laborious,  as  the  men  who  are  remarkable 
indolent,  leave  to  them  every  kind  of  drudgery ; 
even  in  their  hunting  parties  the  former  will  not 
deign  to  bring  home  the  game,  but  fend  their  wives 
for  it,  though  it  lies  at  a  very  confiderable  diftance. 

The  women  place  their  children  foon  after  they 
are  born  on  boards  fluffed  with  foft  mofs,  fuch  as  is 
found  in  moraffes  or  meadows.  The  child  is  laid 
on  its  back  in  one  of  this  kind  of  cradles,  and  be- 
ing wrapped  in  (kins  or  cloth  to  keep  it  warm,  is 
fecured  in  it  by  fmall  bent  pieces  of  timber. 

To  thefe  machines  they  faften  firings,  by  which 
they  hang  them  to  branches  of  trees :  or  if  they 
Find  not  trees  at  hand,  faften  them  to  a  (lump  or 
ftone,  whiift  they  tranfaft  any  needful  bufinefs.     In 


ifz  CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 

this  pofition  are  the  children  kept  for  fome  months, 
when  they  are  taken  out,  the  boys  are  fuffered  to 
go  naked,  and  the  girls  are  covered  from  the  neck 
to  the  knees  with  a  ihift  and  a  fhort  petticoat. 

The  Indian  women  are  remarkably  decent  during 
their  menftrual  illnefs.  thofe  nations  that  are  movt 
remote  from  the  European  fcttlements,  as  the  Nau- 
dowt  flies,  &;c.  are  more  particularly  attentive  to  this 
point ;  though  they  all  without  exception  adhere  in 
fome  degree  to  the  fame  cufiom. 

In  every  camp  or  town  there  is  an  apartment  ap- 
propriated for  their  retirement  at  this  time,  to  which 
botii  iingle  and  married  retreat,  and  feclude  them- 
felves  with  the  utmoft  iiric~tnefs  during  this  period 
from  ail  fociety.  Afterwards  they  purify  themlelves 
in  running  ftreams,  and  return  to  tneir  different  em- 
ployments. 

The  men  on  thefe  occafions  mofc  carefully  avoid 
holding  any  communication  with  them  ;  and  the 
NaudowelTies  are  fo  rigid  in  this  obfervance,  that 
they  will  not  fuffer  any  belonging  to  them  to  fetch 
iuch  things  as  are  necefTary,  even  fire,  from  thefe 
female  lunar  retreats  though  the  want  is  attended 
with  the  greatefl  inconvenience.  They  are  alfo  fo 
fuperflitious  as  to  think,  if  a  pipe  item  cracks,  which 
among  them  is  made  of  wood,  that  the  poiTeffor  has 
either  lighted  it  at  one  of  zhtic  polluted  fires,  or 
held  fome  converfe  with  a  woman  during;  her  retire- 
ment,  which  is  eileemed  by  them  molt  difgracefui 
and  wicked. 

The  Indians  are  extremely  circumfpecl  and  deli- 
berate in  every  word  and  action  ;  there  is  nothing 
that  hurries  them  into  any  intemperate  warmth,  but 
that  inveteracy  to  their  enemies,  which  is  rooted  in 


GARVER's     TRAVELS.  153 

every  Indian  heart,  and  never  can  be  eradicated. 
In  all  other  infiances  they  are  cool,  and  remarkably 
cautious,  taking  care  not  to  betray  on  any  account 
whatever,  their  emotions.  If  an  Indian  has  difco- 
vered  that  a  friend  is  in  danger  of  being  intercepted 
and  cut  off  by  one  to  whom  he  has  rendered  himfelf 
obnoxious ;  he  docs  not  inform  him  in  plain  and 
explicit  terms  of  the  danger  he  runs  by  purfuing  the 
track  near  which  his  enemy  lies  in  Wait  for  him* 
but  he  firfl  coolly  afks  him  which  way  he  is  going 
that  day ;  and  having  received  his  aniwer,  with  the 
fame  indifference  tells  him  that  he  has  been  informed 
that  a  dog  lies  near  the  fpot,  which  might  probably- 
do  him  a  mifchief.  This  hint  proves  fuhicient;  and 
his  friend  avoids  the  danger  with  as  much  caution 
at  if  every  defign  and  motion  of  his  enemy  had  beeri 
pointed  out  to  him. 

This  apathy  often  mews  itfelf  on  occafions  that 
would  call  forth  all  the  fervor  of  a  fufceptible  heart. 
If  an  Indian  has  been  abfent  from  his  family  and 
friends  many  months,  either  on  a  war  or  hunting 
party,  when  his  wife  and  children  meet  him  at  feme 
diftance  from  his  habitation,  inilead  of  the  affec- 
tionate fenfations  that  would  naturally  arife  in  the 
bread  of  more  refined  beings,  and  be  productive 
of  mutual  congratulations,  he  continues  his  courfe 
without  paying  the  lead  attention  to  thofe  who  fur- 
round  him,  till  he  arrives  at  his  home. 

He  there  fits  down,  and  with  the  fame  unconcern 
as  if  he  had  not  been  abfent  a  day,  frnokes  his  pipe? 
thofe  of  his  acquaintance  who  have  followed  him, 
do  the  fame  j  and  perhaps  it  is  feverai  hours  before, 
he  relates  to  them  the  incidents  which  have  befallen 
him  during  his  abfence,  though  perhaps  he  has  left 
a  father,    brother*  or  fon  on  the  field,    whofe  lofs 

U 


154  CARVER'S     f  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

he  ought  to  have  lamented,  or  has  been  unfuc- 
pcfsful  in  the  undertaking  that  called  him  from  his 
home. 

Has  an  Indian  been  engaged  for  feveral  days  in 
the  chace,  or  on  any  other  laborious  expedition,  and 
by  accidenteontinued  thus  long  without  food,  when 
he  arrives  at  the  hut  or  tent  of  a  friend  where  he 
knows  his  wants  may  be  immediately  fupplied,  he 
takes  care  not  to  fhew  the  lead  fymptoms  of  impa- 
tience, or  to  betray  the  extreme  hunger  by  which  he 
is  tortured  -,  but  on  being  invited  in,  fits  contentedly 
down,  and  fmokes  his  pipe  with  as  much  compo- 
sure as  if  every  appetite  was  allayed,  and  he  was  per- 
fectly at  eafe  ;  he  does  the  fame  if  among  flrangers. 
This  cuilom  is  finely  adhered  to  by  every  tribe,  as 
they  efteem  it  a  proof  of  fortitude,  and  think  the  re- 
yerfe  would  entitle  them  to  the  appellation  of  old 
women. 

If  you  tell  an  Indian  that  his  children  have  greatly 
fignalized  themfelves  againft  an  enemy,  have  taken 
many  fcalps,  and  brought  home  many  prifoners,  he 
does  not  appear  to  feel  any  extraordinary  pleafufe  on 
the  occafion;  his  aniwer  generally  is,  "It  is  well,'5 
and  he  makes  very  little  further  enquiry  about  it, 
On  the  contrary,  if  you  inform  him  that  his  children 
are  flain  or  taken  prifoners,  he  makes  no  complaints, 
he  only  replies,  "  It  does  not  fignify  ;"  and  probably, 
for  fome  time  at  leaft,  afks  not  how  it  happened. 

This  feeming  indifference,  however,  does  not  pro- 
ceed from  an  entire  fuppreflion  of  natural  affections ; 
for  notwithstanding  they  are  efteemed  favages,  I  ne- 
ver faw  among  any  other  people  greater  proofs  of 
parental  or  filial  tendernefs  ;  and  although  they  meet 
t-heir  wives  after  a  long  abfence  with  the  ftoicai  hi- 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  if  c 

difference  juft  mentioned,  they  are  not,  in  general, 
void  of  conjugal  affection. 

Another  peculiarity  is  obferyable  in  their  manner 
of  paying  their  vifits.  If  an  Indian  goes  to  vifit  a 
particular  perfon  in  a  family,  he  mentions  to  whom 
his  vifit  is  intended,  and  the  reft  of  the  family  imme- 
diately retiring  to  the  other  end  of  the  hut  or  tent, 
are  careful  not  to  come  near  enough  to  interrupt 
them  during  the  whole  of  their  conyerfation.  The 
fame  method  is  purfued  if  a  man  goes  to  pay  his  re- 
fpecls  to  one  of  the  other  fex :  but  then  he  mufl:  be 
careful  not  to  let  love  be  the  fubject  of  his  difcourfe, 
whilft  the  day  light  remains. 

The  indians  difcpver  an  amazing  fagacity,  and  ac- 
quire with  the  greateft  readinefs  any  thing  that  de- 
pends upon  the  attention  of  the  mind.  By  expe- 
rience and  an  acute  obfervation,  they  attain  many 
perfections  to  which  Europeans  are  ftrangers.  For 
inftance,  they  willcrofsa  foreft  or  aplain  which  is  two 
hundred  miles  in  breadth,  and  reach  with  great  exact - 
nefs  the  point  at  which  they  intended  to  arrive,  keep- 
ing during  rhe  whole  of  that  fpace  in  a  direct  line, 
without  any  material  deviations;  and  this  they  will 
do  with  the  fame  eafe,  whether  the  weather  be  fair 
or  cloudy. 

With  equal  acutenefs  they  will  point  to  that  part 
of  the  heavens  the  fun  is  in,  though  it  be  intercepted 
by  clouds  or  fogs.  Befides  this,  they  are  able  to 
purfue  with  incredible  facility  the  traces  of  man  or 
beaft,  either  on  leaves  or  grafs  ;  and  on  this  account 
it  is  with  great  difficulty  a  flying  enemy  efcapes  dif- 
covery. 

They  are  indebted  for  thefe  talents  not  only  to  na< 
ture,  but  to  an  extraordinary  command  of  the  Intel* 


•l56  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

lectual  faculties,  which  can  cnly  be  acquired  by  ai> 
unremitted  attention,  and  by  long  experience. 

They  are  in  general  very  happy  in  a  retentive 
memory;  they  can  recapitulate  every  particular  that 
has  been  trta:ed  of  in  council,  and  remember  the 
exact  time  wheo  thefe  were  held.  Their  belts  of 
wampum  preferve  the  fubifancc  of  the  treaties  they 
have  concluded  with  the  neighbouring  tribes  for 
ages  back,  to  which  they  wiii  appeal,  and  refer  with 
as  much  pcrfpicuicy  and  readinefs  as  Europeans  can 
to  their  written  records. 

Every  nation  pays  great  refpect  to  old  age.  The 
advice  of  a  father  will  feldom  meet  with  any  extra- 
ordinary attention  from  the  young  Indians,  proba- 
bly they  receive  it  with  only  a  bare  aflcnt  -,  but  they 
will  tremble  before  a  grandfather,  and  fubmit  to 
his  injunction  with  the  utm  ft  alacrity.  The  words 
of  the  ancient  part  of  their  cun.munity  are  efteemed 
by  the  young  as  oracles.  If  they  take  during  their 
hunting  parties  any  game  that  is  reckoned  by  them 
uncommonly  delicious,  it  is  immediately  prefentecj 
to  the  cliui  of  their  relations, 

They  never  fufTer  themfclves  to  be  overburdened 
with  care,  but  live  in  a  (late  of  perfect  tranquility 
and  contentment.  Being  naturally  indolent,  if  pro- 
vifions  jufc  fufficdent  for  their  fubMence  can  be 
procurcd  with  little  trouble,  and  near  at  hand,  they 
will  not  go  far,  or  take  any  extraordinary  pains  for 
it,  though  by  fo  doing  they  might  acquire  greater 
piemy,  and  of  a  more  erTimable  kind. 

Having  much  leifure  time  they  indulge  this  in- 
dolence to  which  they  are  fo  prone,  by  eating, 
drinking,  or  deeping,  and  rambling  about  in  their 
towns  or  camps.     But  when  neceflity  obliges  them 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  l57 

to  take  the  field,  either  to  oppofe  an  enemy,  or 
to  procure  themfelves  food,  they  are  alert  and 
indefatigable.  Many  inftances  of  their  activity, 
on  thefc  occafions,  will  be  given  when  I  treat  of 
their  wars. 

The  infatuating  fpirit  of  gaming  is  not  confined 
to  Europe;  the  Indians  alfo  feel  the  bewitching  im- 
pulfe,  and  often  lofe  their  arms,  their  apparel,  and 
every  thing  they  are  polTeiTed  of.  In  this  cafe, 
however,  they  do  not  follow  the  example  of  more 
refined  gamefters,  for  they  neither  murmur  nor  re- 
pine; not  a  fretful  word  efcapes  them,  but  they 
bear  the  frowns  of  fortune  with  a  philofophic  com- 
pofure. 

The  greater!  blemifh  in  their  character  is  that 
favage  difpofition  which  impels  them  to  treat  their 
enemies  with  a  feverity  every  other  nation  fhudders 
at.  But  if  they  are  thus  barbarous  to  thofe  with 
whom  they  are  at  war,  they  are  friendly,  hofpi- 
table,  and  humane  in  peace.  It  may  with  truth 
be  faid  of  them,  that  they  are  the  worfl  enemies, 
and  the  bell  friends,  of  any  people  in  the  whole 
world. 

The  Indians  in  general  are  ftrangers  to  the  paflion 
of  jealoufy;  and  brand  a  man  with  folly  that  is 
diftruftful  of  his  wife.  Among  fome  bands  the  very 
idea  is  not  known;  as  the  moft  abandoned  of  their 
young  men  very  rarely  attempt  the  virtue  of  married 
women,  nor  do  thefe  often  put  themfelves  in  the 
way  of  felicitation.  Yet  the  Indian  women  in  ge- 
neral are  of  an  amorous  temperature,  and  before 
they  are  married  are  not  the  lei 3  e  (teemed  for  the 
indulgence  of  their  paffions. 


i53  C  A  R  V  E  R's     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

The  Indians  in  their  common  (late  are  flranger$ 
to  all  diftindtion  of  property,  except  in  the  articles 
of  dome  (lie  life,  which  every  one  confiders  as  his 
own,  and  increafes  as  circumflances  admit.  They 
are  extremely  liberal  to  each  other,  and  fupply  the 
deficiency  of  their  friends  with  any  fuperfiuity  of 
their  own. 

In  dangers  they  readily  give  pfli (lance  to  thofe  of 
their  ba  id,  who  ft  and  in  need  of  it,  without  any 
expectation  of  return,  except  of  thofe  juft  rewards 
that  are  always  conferred  by  the  Indians  on  merit. 
Governed  by  the  plain  and  equitable  laws  of  nature^ 
every  one  is  rewarded  folely  according  to  his  de- 
ferts;  and  their  equality  of  condition,  manners  and 
privileges,  with  tha:  conflant  and  fociable  familiarity* 
which  prevails  throughout  every  Indian  nation,  ani- 
mates them  with  a  pure  and  truly  patriotic  fpirit, 
tha:  tends  to  the  general  good  of  the  fociety  to  whicl\ 
th-y  belong. 

If  any  of  their  neighbours  are  bereaved  by  death^ 
or  by  an  enemy  of  their  children,  thofe  who  are 
poifeiled  of  the  greateft  number  of  (laves,  fupply 
the  deficiency;  and  thefe  are  adopted  by  them,  and 
treated  in  every  refpecl  as  if  they  really  were  the 
children  of  the  perfon  to  whom  they  are  pre- 
fen  ted. 

The  Indians,  except  thole  who  live  adjoining 
to  the  European  colonies,  can  form  to  themfelves 
no  idea  of  the  value  of  money;  they  confider  itx 
when  they  are  made  acquainted  with  the  ufes  to 
which  it  is  applied  by  other  nations,  as  the  fource 
of  innumerable  evils.  To  it  they  attribute  all  the 
mifchiefs  that  are  prevalent  among  Europeans,  fuch 
as  treachery,  plundering,  devaftatiens,  and  mur- 
der. 


GARVEk's    TRAVELS.  159 

They  efleem  it  irrational  that  one  man  Ihould  be 
pofleifed  of  a  greater  quantity  than  another,  and  are 
amazed  that  any  honor  ihould  be  annexed  to  the  pof- 
feflion  of  it.  But  that  the  want  of  this  ufelefs  metal 
ihould  be  the  caufe  cf  depriving perfons  of  their  li- 
berty, and  that  on  account  of  this  partial  diftributiori 
of  it,  great  number  mould  be  immured  within  the 
dreary  walls  of  a  prifon,  cut  off  from  that  focicty 
of  which  they  conftitute  a  part,  exceeds  their  be- 
lief. Nor  do  they  fail,  on  hearing  this  part  of  the 
European  fyftem  of  government  related,  to  charge 
the  inftitutors  of  it  with  a  total  want  of  humanity, 
and  to  brand  them  with  the  names  of  favages  and 
brutes. 

They  fhew  almoft  an  equal  degree  of  indifference 
for  the  productions  of  art.  When  any  of  thefe  are 
(hewn  them,  they  fay,  fC  It  is  pretty,  I  like  to  look 
at  it,"  but  are  not  inquifitive  about  the  conftrucnon 
of  it,  neither  can  they  form  proper  conceptions  of 
its  ufe.  But  if  you  tell  them  of  a  perfon  who  is  able 
to  run  with  great  agility,  that  is  well  fkilled  in  hunt- 
ing, can  direct  with  unerring  aim  a  gun,  or  bend 
with  eafe  a  bow,  tha&  can  dextroufly  work  a  canoe, 
underflands  the  art  of  war,  is  acquainted  with  the 
fituation  of  a  country,  and  can  make  his  way  with- 
out a  guide,  through  an  immenfe  foreft,  fubiifting 
during  this  on  a  fmali  quantity  of  provificns,  they 
are  in  raptures;  they  liften  with  great  attention  t& 
the  pleafing  tale,  and  beflow  the  hicheit  comrafexi- 
dations  on  the  hero  of  it.  « 


[6o      CARVER'S  TRAVELS. 


CHAPTER  IV, 


their  Method  of  reckoning  Time,  &c. 


c 


ONSIDERING  their  ignorance  of  af- 
tronomy,  time  is  very  rationally  divided  by  the 
Indians.  Thole  in  the  interior  parts  (and  of  thofc  I 
would  generally  be  underftood  to  fpeak)  count  their 
years  by  winters  -,  or,  as  they  exprefs  themfelves* 
by  fno ws. 

Some  nations  among  them  reckon  their  years  by 
moons,  and  make  them  confift  of  twelve  fynodicai 
or  lunar  months,  obferving,  when  thirty  moons  have 
waned,  to  aid  a  fupernumerary  one,  which  they 
term  the  loft  moon;  and  then  begin  to  count  as 
before.  They  pay  a  great  regard  to  the  firft  ap- 
pearance of  every  moon,  and  on  the  occafion  always 
repeat  lbme  joyful  founds,  ftretching  at  the  fame 
time  their  hands  towards  it. 

Every  month  has  with  them  a  name  expreffive  of 
its  feafon;  for  inftance*  they  call  the  month  of 
March  (in  which  their  year  generally  begins  at  the 
firft  New-Moor!  after  the  vernal  Equinox)  the  Worm 
Month  or  Moon;  becaufe  at  f his  time  the  worms 
quit  their  retreats  in  the  bark  of  the  trees*  wood, 
6cC.  where  they  have  flickered  themfelves  during 
the  winter. 

The  month  of  April  is  termed  by  them  the  month 
of  Plants.      May,  the   month  of  Flowers.     June, 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  ,6i 

the  Hot  Moon.     July,    the   Buck   Moon.     Their 
reafon  for  thus  denominating  thefe  is  obvious. 

Auguftjthe  Sturgeon  Moon;  becaufe  in  this  month 
they  catch  great  numbers  of  that'  fifh. 

September,  the  Corn  Moon;  becaufe  in  that 
month  they  gather  in  their  Indian  corn. 

October,  the  Travelling  Moon;  as  they  leave  at 
this  time  their  villages,  and  travel  towards  the  places 
where  they  intend  to  hunt  during  the  winter. 

November,  the  Beaver  Moon;  for  in  this  month 
the  beavers  begin  to  take  melter  in  their  houfes, 
having  laid  up  a  fufficient  ftore  of  provifions  for  the 
winter  feafon. 

December,  the  Hunting  Moon,  becaufe  they 
employ  this  month  in  purfuit  of  their  game. 

January,  the  Cold  Moon,  as  it  generally  freezes 
harder,  and  the  cold  is  more  intenfe  in  this  than  in 
any  other  month. 

February,  they  call  the  Snow  Moon,  tjFcaufe 
more  fnow  commonly  falls  during  this  month,  than 
any  other  in  the  winter.  * 

When  the  moon  does  not  fhine  they  fay  the  Moon 
*  is  dead;    and  fome  call  the  three  laft  days  cf  it  the 
naked  days.    The  Moon's  firft  appearance  they  term 
its  coming*  to  life  a^ain. 

They  make  no  divifion  of  weeks;  bfit  days  they 
count  by  fleeps;  half  days  by  pointing  to  the  fun  at 
noon;  arid  quarters  by  the  riling  and  fetting  of  the 

X 


i62  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

fun:  to  exprefs  which  in  their  traditions  they  make 
ui'e  of  very  figniricant  hieroglyphics. 

The  Indians  are  totally  unskilled  in  geography  as 
well  as  ail  the  other  fciences,  and  yet,  as  I  have  be- 
fore hinted,  they  draw  on  their  birch  bark  very  exact 
charts  or  maps  of  the  countries  with  which  they  are 
acquainted.  The  latitude  and  longitude  is  only 
wanting  to  make  them  tolerably  complete. 

Their  fole  knowledge  in  aftronomy  confifts  in 
being  able  to  point  out  the  the  pole-ftar;  by  which 
they  regulate  their  courfe  w7hen  they  travel  in  the 
night. 

They  reckon  the  diflance  of  places,  not  by  miles 
or  leagues,  but  by  a  day's  journey,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  bell  calculations  I  could  make,  appears  to 
be  about  twenty  EnghiTi  miles.  Thefe  they  alfo  di- 
vide into  halves  and  quarters,  and  vili  demonftnr.te 
them  in  their  maps  with  great  exaclnefs,  by  the  hie- 
roglyphics juft  mentioned,  when  they  regulate  in 
council  their  war  parties,  or  their  moil  diftant  hunt- 
ing excui  lions. 

Tiey  have  no  idea  of  arithmetic ;  and  though  they 
are  able  to  count  to  any  number,  figures  as  well  as 
letters  appear  myflerious  to  them,  and  above  their 
comprehenfion. 

During  my  abode  with  the  NaudowcfTles,  fome 
of  the  chiefs  cbferving  one  day  a  draft  of  an  eclipfe 
of  the  mocn,  in  a  bock  of  allronomy  which  I  held  in 
my  hand,  j-^ey  de fired  I  would  permit  them  to  look 
at  it.  Happening  to  give  them  the  book  fhut,  they 
began  to  count  the  leaves  till  they  came  to  the  place 
in  which  the  plate  wa-.  After  they  had  viewed  it, 
andafked  many  queilions  relative  to  it,  I  told  thcrn 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  i6j 

they  need  not  to  have  taken  fo  much  pains  to  find 
the  leaf  on  which  it  was  drawn,  for  I  could  not  only 
tell  in  an  infrant  the  place,  without  counting  the 
leaves,  but  aifo  how  many  preceded  it. 

They  feemed  greatly  amazed  at  my  afTertion,  and 
begge  i  that  I  would  demonftrate  to  them  the  pof- 
fibili-  y  of  doing  it.  To  this  purpefe  I  defired  the 
chief  that  held  the  book,  to  open  it  at  any  particular 
place,  and  juft  fhewing  me  the  page  carefully  to 
conceal  the  edges  of  the  leaves,  fo  that  I  might  not 
be  able  to  count  them. 

This  he  did  with  the  greatefl  caution;  notwith- 
(landing  v/hich,  by  looking  at  the  folio,  I  told  him, 
to  his  great  furprife,  the  number  of  leaves.  He 
counted  them  regularly  over,  and  difcovered  that  I 
was  exact.  And  when,  after  repeated  trials,  the 
Indian:-.-  found  I  could  do  it  with  great  readinels,  and 
without  ever  erring  in  my  calculation,  they  all  feemed 
as  much  aftonifhed  as  if  I  had  raifed  the  dead.  The 
only  way  they  could  account  for  my  knowledge, 
was  by  concluding  that  the  book  was  a  fpirit,  and 
whifpered  me  anfwers  to  whatever  I  demanded  of  it. 

This  circumftance,  trifling  as  it  might  app^r  to 
thofe  who  are  lefs  illiterate,  contributed  to  ineieafe 
my  confequence,  and  to  augment  the  favorable  op^ 
nion  they  already  entertained  of  me, 


t 

164  C  A  RVER's     TRAVELS, 


CHAPTER     V. 


Of  their  Government,  &c. 


JtJjVERY  feperate  body  of  Indians  is  divided 
into  bands  or  tribes;  v/hich  band  or  tribe  forms  a 
little  community  with  the  nation  to  which  it  belongs. 
As  the  nation  has  fome  particular  fymbol  by  whick 
it  is  diftinguimed  from  others,  fo  each  tribe  has  a 
badge  from  which  it  is  denominated:  as  that  of  the 
Eagle,  the  Panther,  the  Tiger,  the  Buffalo,  &c. 
ojc.  One  band  of  the  Nauciowc  (Ties  is  reprefented 
by  a  Snake,  another  a  Tortoifr,  a  third  a  Squirrel, 
a  fourth  a  Wolf,  and  a  fifth  a  Buffalo.  Throughout 
every  nation  they  particularife  themfelves  in  the  fame 
manner,  and  the  meaneft  perfon  among  them  will 
remember  his  lineal  defcent,  and  diliinguiih  himfelf 
by  his  refpedive  family. 

Dia  not  many  eircumftane'es  tend  to  confute  the 

fucpojjtion,  I  fhould  be  almoft  induced  to  conclude 

from    this  diftiriclion  of  tribes,  and  the  particular 

hment  of  the  Indians  to  them,  that  they  derive 

origin*  as  fome  have  afferted,  from  the  Ifrae- 

-Ides  this,  every  nation  diftinguiih  themfelves 
by  t!-.e  manner  of  conftrnctin'g  their  tents  or  huts. 
And  fo  well  verfed  are  all  the  Indians  in  this  diftinc- 
Tion,  that  though  there  appears  to  be  no  difference 
on   t\\t  niceft  obfervation     made  by  an  European, 

hey  will  immediately  difcover,  from  the  pofvtion 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  165 

of  a  pole  left  in  the  ground,  what  nation  has  en- 
camped on  the  fpot  many  months  before. 

Every  band  has  a  chief  who  is  termed  the  Great 
Chief  or  the  chief  Warrior ;  and  who  is  chofen  in 
confideration  of  his  experience  in  war,  and  of  his 
approved  valour,  to  direct  their  military  operations, 
and  to  regulate  all  concerns  belonging  to  that  de- 
partment. But  this  chief  is  not  confidered  as  the 
head  of  the  flate ;  befides  the  great  warrior  who  is 
elected  for  his  war-like  qualifications,  there  is  ano- 
ther who  enjoys  a  pre-eminence  as  his  hereditary 
right,  and  has  the  more  immediate  management  of 
their  civil  affairs.  This  chief  might  with  greater 
propriety  be  denominated  the  Sachem ;  whofe  aiTent 
is  neceffary  in  all  conveyances  and  treaties,  to  which 
he  affixes  the  mark  of  the  tribe  or  nation. 

Though  thefe  two  are  confidered  as  the  heads  of 
the  band,  and  the  latter  is  ufually  denominated  their 
king,  yet  the  Indians  are  fenfible  of  neither  civil  or 
military  fubordination.  As  everyone  of  them  enter- 
tains a  high  opinion  of  his  confequence,  and  is  ex- 
tremely tenacious  of  his  liberty,  all  injunctions  that 
carry  with  them  the  appearance  of  a  pofitive  com- 
mand, are  inilantly  rejected  with  fcorn. 

On  this  account,  it  is  feldom  that  their  leaders 
are  fo  indifcreet  as  to  give  out  any  of  their  orders  in 
a  peremptory  ftile;  a  bare  hint  from  a  chief  that  he 
thinks  fuch  a  thing  neceffary  to  be  done,  inftantly 
aroufes  an  emulation  among  the  inferior  ranks,  and 
it  is  immediately  executed  with  great  alacrity.  By 
this  method  the  difguftful  part  of  the  command  is 
evaded,  and  an  authority  that  falls  little  fhort  of  ab- 
folute  fway  inftituted  in  its  room. 

Among  the  Indians  no  vifible  form  of  government 
is  eftablilhed ;  they  allow  of  no  fuch  diftinction  as 


,56  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

magiftrate  and  fubjecl,  every  one  appearing  to  enjoy 
an  independence  that  cannot  be  controlled.  The 
object  of  government  among  them  is  rather  foreign 
than  domeftic,  for  their  attention  fee ms  more  to  be 
employed  in  preferving  fuch  an  union  among  the 
members  of  their  tribe  as  will  enable  them  to  watch 
the  motions  of  their  enemies,Ind  to  a&againfttl 
with  concert  and  vigour,  than  to  maintain  interior 
order  by  any  public  regulations.  If  a  fcheme  that 
appears  to  be  offervice  to  the  community  is  propof- 
ed  by  the  chief,  every  one  is  at  liberty  to  choofe 
whether  he  will  affifl:  in  carrying  it  on  ;  for  they  have 
no  compulfory  laws  that  lay  them  under  any  reftric- 
tions.  It  violence  is  committed,  or  blood  is  fhed, 
the  right  of  revenging  thefe  mifdemeanors  is  left  to 
the  family  of  the  injured  :  the  chiefs  affume  neither 
the  power  of  inflicting  or  moderating  the  punifh- 
ment. 

Some  nations,  where  the   dignity  is  hereditary, 

limit  the  fucceiTicn  to  the  female  line.  On  the  death 
of  a  chief,  his  filler's  fon  fometimes  fucce  jds  him  in 
preference  to  his  own  fon  ;  and  if  he  happens  to 
have  no  filler,  the  nearer!  female  relation  aflutnes  the 
dignity.  This  accounts  for  a  woman  being  at  the 
head  of  the  Winnebago  nation,  which,  before  1  waB 
acquainted  with  their  laws,  appeared  ftrange  to  me. 

Each  family  has  a  right  to  appoint  one  of  its  chiefs 
to  be  an  affiftant  to  the  principal  cheif,  who  watches 
over  the  intereft  of  his  family,  and  without  whofc 
confent  nothing  of  a  public  nature  can  be  carried  into 
execution.  Thefe  are  generally  chofen  for  their 
ability  in  fpeaking  5  and  fuch  only  are  permitted  t& 
make  orations  in  their  councils  and  general  affcai- 
blies. 


CARVER's    TRAVELS.  iC7 

In  this  body,  with  the  hereditary  chief  at  its  head, 
the  fupremc  authority  appears  to  be  lodged  ;  as  by- 
its  determination  every  tranfadtion  relative  to  their 
hunting,  to  their  making  war  o  r  peace,  and  to  all  their 
public  concerns  are  regulated.  Next  to  thefe,  the 
body  of  warriors,  which  comprehends  all  that  are 
ttblc  to  bear  arms,  hold  their  rank.  This  clivifion 
has f0rnt times  atitshead  the  cheifofthe  nation,  if  he 
has  figna&zed  himfelfby  any  renowned  action,  if  nor, 
fome  chief  that  has  rendered  himfelf  famous. 

In  their  councils,  which  are  held  by  the  foregoing 
members,  every  affair  of  confequence  is  debate.!  > 
and  no  enterprize  of  the  lead  moment  undertaken, 
linlcfl  it  there  meets  with  the  general  approbation 
of  the  chiefs.  They  commonly  aiTemble  in  a  hut  or 
tent  appropriated  to  this  purpofe,  and  being  feated 
in  a  circle  on  the  ground,  the  eldeft  chief  riles  and 
makes  a  fpeech  ;  when  he  has  concluded,  another 
gets  up  3  and  thus  they  all  fpeak,  if  necelTary  by 
turns. 

On  this  cccafion  their  language  is  nervous,  and 
their  manner  of  exprcilion  emphaticaj.  Their  ftile 
is  adorned  with  images,  companions,  and  ftrong 
metaphors,  and  is  equal  in  allegories  to  that  of  any 
of  the  eallern  nations.  In  all  their  fet  fpeeches  they 
exprefs  themfeives  with  much  vehemence,  but  in 
Common  difcourfe  according  to  our  ulual  method  of 
Fpeech. 

The  young  men  are  (offered  to  be  prefent  at  the 
councils,  though  they  are  not  allowed  to  make  a 
fpeech  till  they  are  regularly  admitted  :  they  how- 
ever lifteri  with  rcat  attention,  a^d  to  mow  that 
they  both  understand,  and  approve  of  the  refolutionl 
taken  by  the  arTembled  chiefs,  thev  frequently  ex- 
claim,   "  That  is  right/*     "  That  is  good." 


i68  CARVER's    TRAVELS. 

The  cuftomary  mode  among  all  the  ranks  of  ex- 
prefling  their  affent,  and  which  they  repeat  at  the 
end  of  almoft  every  period  is  by  uttering  a  kind  of 
forcible  afpiration,  which  founds  like  an  union  of  the 
letters  OAH. 


CARVE  R'i     TRAVELS.  169 


CHAPTER    VI. 


Of  their  Feafts 


ANY  of  the  Indian  nations  neither  make 
ue  of  bread,  fait,  or  fpices  j  and  fome  of  them  have 
never  feen  or  tafted  of  either.  The  NaudoweiTies  in 
particular  have  no  bread,  nor  any  fubftitute  for  it. 
They  eat  the  wild  rice  which  grows  in  great  quan- 
tities in  different  parts  of  their  territories  :  but  they 
boil  it  and  eat  it  alone.  They  alfo  eat  the  flefh  of  the 
beafts  they  kill,  without  having  recourfe  to  any  fari- 
naceous fubftance  to  abforb  the  groiTer  particles  of 
it.  And  even  when  they  confume  the  fugar  which 
they  have  extracted  from  the  maple  tree,  they  ufe  it 
not  to  render  fome  other  foed  palatable,  but  gene- 
rally eat  it  by  itfeif. 

Neither  have  they  any  idea  of  the  ufe  of  milk,  al- 
though theymigkt  collect  great  quantities  from  the 
buffalo  or  the  elk  ;  they  only  confider  it  as  proper 
for  the  nutriment  of  the  young  of  thefe  beafts  during 
their  tender  ftate.  I  could  not  perceive  that  any  in- 
conveniency  attended  the  total  difufe  of  articles 
efteemed  fo  neceflary  and  nutritious  by  other  na- 
tions, on  the  contrary,  they  are  in  general  healthy  and 
vigorous. 

One  dim  however,  which  anfwers  nearly  the 
fame  purpofe    as  bread,   is  in  ufe  among    the  Ot- 

Y 


C  A  ft  V  It  R '  5     T  R  A  V   E  L  & 

taganmies,  the  Saukies,  and  the  more  eaftern  na- 
tions, where  Indian  corn  grows,  which  is  not  only 
much  eftcerned  by  them,  buc  ic  is  reckoned  ex- 
tremely palatable  by  all  the  Europeans  who  enter 
their  dominions.  This  is  compofed  of  their  unripe 
corn  as  before  defcribed.  and  beans  in  the  fame  ftate, 
boiled  together  with  bear's  flefh,  the  fat  of  which 
moiftens  thepuife,  and  renders  it  beyond  comparifon 
delicious.     They  call  this  food  Succatofh. 

The  Indians  are  far  from  being  Cannibals,  as  they 
are  faid  to  be.  All  their  victuals  are  either  roafted 
or  boiled  -,  and  this  in  the  extreme.  Their  drink  is 
generally  the  broth  in  which  it  has  been   boiled. 

Their  food  con  fifts  of  the  flefh  of  the  bear,  the 
buffalo,  the  elk,  the  deer,  the  beaver,  and  the  racoon; 
which  they  prepare  in  the  manner  juft  mentioned. 
They  ufually  eat  the  flefh  of  the  deer  which  is  na- 
turally dry,  with  that  of  the  bear  which  is  fat  and 
juicy  i  and  though  the  latter  is  extremely  rich  and 
lufcious,  it  is  never  known  to  cloy. 

In  the  fpring  of  the  year  the  Naudowef- 
fies,  eat  the  infide  bark  of  a  fhrub,  that  they 
gather  in  fome  part  of  their  country  -,  but  I  could 
neither  learn  the  name  of  it,  or  difcover  from 
whence  they  got  it.  It  was  of  a  brittle  nature  and 
eafily  mafricated.  The  tafte  of  it  was  very  agreea- 
ble, and  they  faid  it  was  extremely  nourishing.  In 
flavour  it  was  not  unlike  the  turnip,  and  when  re- 
ceived into  the  mouth  refembled  that  root  both  in  its 
pulpous  and  frangible  nature. 

The  lower  ranks  of  the  Indians  are  exceedinglv 
nafty  in  drefhng  their  victuals,  but  fome  of  the  chiefs 
are  very  neat -and  cleanly  in  their  apparel,  tents  and 
food. 


CARVER's       TRAVELS, 

They  commonly  eat  in  large  parties,,  fo  that  their 
■meals  may  properly  be  termed  leads  ,  and  this  they 
do  without  being  reftricted  to  any  fixed  or  regular 
hours,  but  jud  as  their  appetites  require,  and  con- 
venience fuits. 

They  ufualiy  dance  either  before  or  after  every 
meal  ;  and  by  this  cheerfulnefs  probably  render  the 
Great  Spirit,  to  whom  they  confider  themfeives  as 
indebted  for  every  good,  a  more  acceptable  iacririce 
than  a  formal  and  unanimated  thankfgiving.  The 
men  and  women  read  apart  :  and  each  fex  invite  by 
turns  their  companions,  to  partake  with  them  of  the 
food  they  happen  to  have ;  but  in  their  domedic 
way  of  living  the  men  and  women  eat  together. 

No  people  are  more  hofpi tabic,  kind,  and  free 
than  the  Indians.  They  will  readily  fh#re  with  any 
of  their  own  tribe  the  lad  part  of  their  provifions, 
and  even  with  thofe  of  a  different  nation,  if  they 
chance  to  come  in  when  they  are  eating.  Though 
they  do  not  keep  one  common  dock,  yet  that  com- 
munity of  goods  which  is  fo  prevalent  among  them, 
and  their  generous  difpofition,  render  it  nearly  of  the 
fame  effect. 

When  the  chiefs  are  convened  on  any  public  bu- 
finefs,  they  always  conclude  with  a  fead,  at  which 
their  fedivity  and  cheerfulnefs  know  no  limit. 


72 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 


CHAPTER     VII. 


Of  their  Bar: 


cei 


among 


Jj  j/ANCING  is  a  favourite  cxercife 
the  Indians  ■>  they  never  meet  on  any  public  occa 
fion,  but  this  makes  a  part  of  the  entertainment, 
And  when  they  are  not  engaged  in  war  or  hunting, 
the  youth  cf  both  fexes  amufc  themfelves,,  in  this 
manner  every  evening. 

They  always  dance,  as  I  have  juft  obferved,  at 
their  feafts.  In  thefe  as  well  as  all  their  other  dances,, 
every  man  rifes  in  his  turn,  and  moves  about  with 
great  freedom  and  boldnefs  ;  fincring  as  he  does  fo, 
the  exploits  of  his  anceftors.  -  During  this  the  com- 
pany, who  are  feated  on  the  ground  in  a  circle, 
around  the  dancer,  join  with  him  in  making  the  ca- 
dence, by  an  odd  tone,  which  they  utter  all  together, 
and  which  founds,  "  Heh,  heh,  hen."  Thefe  notes, 
if  they  might  be  fo  termed,  are  articulated  with  a 
harih  accent,  and  (trained  out  with  the  utmoft  force 
of  their  lungs  :  fo  that  one  would  imagine  their 
ftrength  mult  be  foon  exhaufted  by  it ;  inftead  of 
which,  they  repeat  it  with  the  fame  violence  during 
the  whole  of  their  entertainment. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 


73 


The  women,  particularly  thofe  of  the  weftem  na- 
tions, dance  very  gracefully.  They  carry  themfelve. 
erect,  and  with  their  arms  hanging  down  clofe  to 
jheir  fides,  move  firfta  few  yards  to  the  right,  and 
then  back  again  to  the  left.  This  movement  they 
perform  without  taking  any  fteps  as  an  European 
would  do,  but  with  their  feet  conjoined,  moving  by 
turns  their  toes  and  heels.  In  this  manner  they  glide 
with  great  agility  to  a  certain  diftance,  and  then 
return  -,  and  let  thofe  who  join  in  the  dance  be  ever 
ib  numerous,  they  keep  time  fo  exactly  with  tdch 
other  that  no  interruption  enfues.  During  this,  at 
ftated  periods,  they  mingle  their  fhrill  voices,  with 
the  hoarfer  ones  of  the  men,  who  fit  around  (for  it 
is  to  be  obferved  that  the  fexes  never  intermix  in  the 
fame  dance)  which,  with  the  mufic  of  the  drums  and 
chickicoes,  make  an  agreeable  harmony. 

The  Indians  have  feveral  kinds  of  dancer,  which, 
they  ufe  en  different  occafions,  as  the  Pipe  or  Calu- 
met Dance,  the  War  Dance,  the  Marriage  Dafrce, 
and  the  Dance  of  the  Sacrifice.  The  movements  in 
everyone  ofthefe  are  diffimilar;  but  it  is  almofr 
impofUble  to  convey  any  idea  of  the  points  in  which 
jhey  are  unlike. 

Different  nations  likewife  vary  in  their  manner  of 
dancing.  The  /Chipeways  throw  themfelves  into  a 
greater  variety  of  attitudes  than  any  other  people  ; 
fometimes  they  held  their  heads  erect,  at  others  they 
bend  them  almofl  to  the  ground  3  then  recline  on  on  c 
fide,  and  immediately  after  on  the  other.  The 
Naudowe flies  carry  themfelves  more  upright,  ftep 
firmer,  and  move  more  gracefully.  But  they  all 
accompany  their  dances  with  the  difagreeable  ndili 
juft  mentioned. 


*74 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS 


The  Pipe  Dance  is  the  principal,  and  the  moll: 
pleafing  to  a  fpeetator  of  any  of  them,  being  the  leafc 
frantic,  and  the  movement  of  it  mod  graceful.  It 
is  but  on  particular  occafions  that  it  isufed;  as 
when  ambarladors  from  an  enemy  arrive  to  treat  of 
peace,  or  when  itrangers  of  eminence  pafs  through 
their  territories. 

The  War  Dance,  which  they  ufe  both  before 
they  let  out  on  their  war  parties,  and  on  their  return 
from  them,  ftrikes  terror  into  ftrangers.  It  is  per- 
formed, as  the  others,  amidft  a  circle  of  the  war- 
riors; a  chief  generally  begins  it  who  moves  from 
the  right  to  the  left,  Tinging  at  the  fame  time  both 
his  own  exploits,  and  thole  of  his  anceftors.  When 
he  has  concluded  his  account  of  any  memorable  ac- 
tion, he  gives  a  violent  blow  with  his  war-club, 
againft  a  pod  that  is  fixed  in  the  ground,  near  the 
centre  cf  the  aflembly,  for  this  purpofe. 

Every  one  dances  in  his  turn,  and  recapitulates  the 
wondrous  deeds  of  his  family,  till  they  all  at  laft  join 
in  the  dance.  Then  it  becomes  truly  alarming  to 
any  ftranger  that  happens  to  be  among  them,  as 
they  throw  themfelves  in  every  horrible  and  terrifying 
pofture  that  can  be  imagined,  rehearfingat  the  fame 
time  the  parts  they  expect,  to  act  againft  their  ene- 
mies in  the  field.  During  this  they  hold  their  fharp 
knives  in  their  hands,  with  which,  as  they  whirl 
about,they  are  every  moment  in  danger  ofcuttingeach 
other's  throats  i  and  did  they  not  fhun  the  threatened 
mifchiefwith  inconceivable  dexterity,  it  could  not  be 
avoided.  By  thefe  motions  they  intend  to  repre- 
fent  the  manner  in  which  they  kill,  fcalp,  and  take 
their  prifoners.  To  heighten  the  fcene,  they  fet  up 
the  fame  hedious  yells,  cries,  and  war-whoops  they 
ufe  in  time  of  action  :  fo  that  it  is  impoflible  to  con- 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  i7$ 

iider  them  in  any  other  light  than  as  an  arTembly  of 
demons. 

I  have  frequently  joined  in  this  dance  with  them, 
but  itfoon  ceafed  to  be  an  amufement  to  me,  as  I 
could  not  lay  afide  my  apprehenfions  of  receiving 
fome  dreadful  wound,  that  from  the  violence  of  their 
geftures  muft  have  proved  mortal. 

I  found  that  the  nations  to  the  weftward  of  the 
Miffiffippi,  and  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Superior,  ftiil 
continue  to  make  ufe  of  the  Pawwaw  or  Black 
Dance.  The  people  of  the  colonies  tell  a  thoufand 
ridiculous  ftories  of  the  Devil  being  raifed  in  this 
dance  by  the  Indians.  But  they  allow  that  this  was 
in  former  times,  and  is  now  nearly  extinct  among 
thofe  who  live  adjacent  to  the  European  fettlements. 
However  I  difcovered  that  it  was  flill  ufed  in  the 
interior  parts  j  and  though  I  did  not  actually  fee  the 
Devil  railed  by  it,  I  was  witnefs  to  fome  fcenes,  that 
could  only  be  performed  by  fuch  as  dealt  with  him, 
or  were  very  expert  and  dextrous  jugglers. 

Whilft  I  was  among  the  Naudoweilies,  a  dance 
which  they  thus  termed  was  performed.  Before 
the  dance  began,  one  of  the  Indians  was  admitted 
into  a  fociety  which  they  denominated  Wakon- 
Kitchewah,  that  is,  the  Friendly- Society  of  the 
Spirit.  This  fociety  is  compofed  of  perfonsof  both 
fexes,  but  fuch  only  can  be  admitted  into  it  as  are  of 
unexceptionable  character,  and  who  receive  the  ap- 
probation of  the  whole  body.  To  this  admiflion 
fucceeded  the  Pawwaw  Dance  (in  which  I  faw  no- 
thing that  could  give  rife  to  the  reports  I  had  heard) 
and  the  whole,  according  to  their  ufual  cuftom,,  con- 
eluded  with  a  strand  feaft. 


!76  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

The  initiation  being  attended  with  fome  very  lin- 
gular circumftances,  which,  as  I  have  before  ob- 
served, muft  be  either  the  effect  of  magic,  or  of 
amazing  dexterity,  I  mail  give  a  particular  account 
of  the  whole  procedure.  It  was  performed  at  the 
time  of  the  new  moon,  in  a  place  appropriated  to 
the  purpofe,  near  the  centre  of  their  camp,  that 
would  contain  about  two  hundred  people.  Being  a 
ft  ranger,  and  of!  all  occafions  treated  by  them  with 
great  civility,  I  was  invited  to  fee  the  ceremony, 
and  placed  clofe  to  the  rails  of  the  inclofure. 

About  twelve  o'clock  they  began  to  aifemble; 
when  the  fun  fhone  bright,  which  they  confidered 
as  a  good  cmen,  for  they  never  by  choice  hold  any 
of  their  public  meetings  unlefs  the  fky  be  clear  and 
unclouded.  A  great  number  of  chiefs  firft  appeared, 
who  were  drefied  in  their  beft  apparel  -,  and  after 
them  came  the  head-warrior,  clad  in  a  long  robe  of 
rich  furs,  that  trailed  on  the  ground,  attended  by  a 
retinue  of  fifteen  or  twenty  perfons,  painted  and 
drefTed  in  the  gayeft  manner.  Next  followed  the 
wives  of  fuch  as  had  been  already  admitted  into  the 
fociety;  and  in  the  rear  a  confuted  heap  of  the  lower 
ranks,  all  contributing  as  much  as  lay  in  their  power 
to  make  the  appearance  grand  and  fhowy. 

When  the  ailembly  was  feated,  and  file  nee  pro- 
claimed, one  of  the  principal  chiefs  arofe,  and  in  a 
fhort  but  mafterly  fpeech  informed  his  audience  of 
the  occafion  of  their  meeting.  He  acquainted  them 
that  one  of  their  young  men  wifhed  to  be  admitted 
into  their  fociety;  and  taking  him  by  the  hand  pre- 
fented  him  to  their  view,  afking  them,  at  the  fame 
time,  whether  they  had  any  objection  to  his  becom- 
ing one  of  their  community. 

No  objection  being  made,  the  young  candidate 
was  placed  in  the  centre,  and  four  of  the  chiefs  took 


C  A  R  V  E  R  '5     TRAVELS.  l?7 

their  flations  clofe  to  him;  after  exhorting  him.  by 
turns,  not  to  faint  under  the  operation  he  was  about 
to  go  through,  but  to  behave  like  an  Indian  and  a 
man,  two  of  them  took  hold  of  his  arms,  and  caufed 
him  to  kneel  -,  another  placed  himfelf  behind  him, 
ib  as  to  receive  him  when  he  fell,  and  the  lad  of  the 
four  retired  to  the  diftance  of  about  twelve  feet  from 
him  exactly  in  front. 

This  difpofition  being  completed,  the  chief  that 
flood  before  the  kneeling  candidate,  began  to  fpeak 
to  him  with  an  audible  voice.  He  told  him  that  he 
himfelf  was  now  agitated  by  the  fame  lpirit  which 
he  mould  in  a  few  moments  communicate  to  him; 
that  it  would  ftrike  him  dead,  but  that  he  would  in- 
flantly  be  reftored  again  to  life;  to  this  he  added, 
that  the  communication  however  terrifying,  was  a 
neceffary  introduction  to  the  advantages  enjoyed  by 
the  community  into  which  he  was  on  the  point  of  be- 
ing admitted. 

As  he  fpoke  this,  he  appeared  to  be  greatly  agi- 
tated, till  at  laft  his  emotions  became  fo  violent, 
that  his  countenance  was  diftorted,  and  his  whole 
frame  convulfed.  At  this  juncture  he  threw  fome- 
thing  that  appeared  both  in  fhape  and  colour  like  a 
fmall  bean,  at  the  young  man,  which  feemed  to  en- 
ter his  mourn,  arid  he  inftantly -fell  as  motionlefs  as 
if  he  had  been  fho:.  The  chief  that  was  placed  be- 
hind him  received  him  in  his  arms,  and,  by  the 
affiftance  of  the  other  two,  laid  him  on  the  ground 
to  all  appearance  bereft  of  life. 

Having  done  this,  they  immediately  began  to  rub 
his  limbs,  and  to  ftri.ke  him  on  the  back,  giving  him 
fuch  blows,  as  feemed  more  calculated  to  ftill  the 
ouick,  than  to  raife  the  dead.     During  thefe  extra- 


s 


rS  C  A  R  V  E  R»5     TRAVELS. 

ordinary  applications,  the  fpcaker  continued  his  ha- 
rangue, deli  ring  the  ipeclators  not  to  be  furprifed, 
or  to  defpair  of  the  young  man's  recovery,  as  his 
pre  lent  inanimate  iituation  proceeded  only  from  the 
forcible  operation  of  the  fpirit,  on  faculties  that  had 
hitherto  been  unufed  to  inipirations  of  this  kind. 

The  candidate  lay  feveral  minutes  without  fenfe 
or  motion  -,  but  at  length,  after  receiving  many  vio- 
lent blows,  he  began  to  difcover  fome  fymptoms  of 
returning  life.  Thefe,  however,  were  attended  with 
flrong  convulfions,  and  an  apparent  obftruction  in 
his  throat.  But  they  were  foon  at  an  end;  for  hav- 
ing difcharged  from  his  mouth  the  bean,  or  what- 
ever it  was  that  the  chief  had  thrown  at  him,  but 
which  on  the  clofeft  inflection  I  had  not  perceived 
to  enter  it,  he  foon  after  appeared  to  be  tolerably 
recoYeied. 

This  part  of  the  ceremory  being  happily  effected, 
the  officiating  chiefs  difrobed  him  of  the  clothes  he 
had  ufually  worn,  and  put  on  him  a  fet  of  apparel 
entirely  new.  When  he  was  dreiTed,  the  fpeaker 
ence  more  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  prefented  him 
to  the  fociety  as  a  regular  and  thoroughly  initiafed 
member,  exhorting  them,  at  the  fame  time,  to  give 
him  fuch  necefiary  afiiflance,  as  being  a  young  mem- 
ber, he  might  ft  and  in  need  of.  He  then  alio  charged 
the  newly  elected  brother  to  receive  with  humility, 
and  to  follow  with  punctuality  the  advice  of  his  elder 
brethren. 

Ail  thofe  who  had  been  admitted  within  the  rails, 
now  formed  a  circlue  around  their  new  brother,  and 
the  mufic  ftriking  up,  the  great  chief  fung  a  fong, 
celebrating  as  ufual  their  martial  exploits. 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  l?9 

The  only  mufic  they  make  ufe  of  is  a  drum,  which 
is  compofed  of  a  piece  of  a  hollow  tree  curioufly 
wrought,  and  over  one  end  of  which  is  (trained  a 
ikin,  this  they  beat  with  a  fingle  flick,  and  it  gives 
a  found  that  is  far  from  harmonious,  but  it  juft  ferves 
to  beat  time  with.  To  this  they  fometimes  add 
the  chichicoe,  and  in  their  war  dances  they  likewife 
ufe  a  kind  of  fife,  formed  of  a  reed,  which  makes  a 
ill  rill  harfh  noife. 

The  whole  affembly  were  by  this  time  united,  and 
the  dance  began;  feveral  fingers  afTifted  the  mufic 
with  their  voice,  .arid  the  women  joining  in  the  cho- 
rus at  certain  intervals,  they  produced  together  a 
not  unpleafing  but  favage  harmony.  This  was  one 
of  the  mod  agreeable  entertainments  I  faw  whilit  I 
was  among  them. 

I  could  not  help  laughing  at  a  lingular  childiirt 
cuftom  I  obferved  they  introduced  into  this  dance, 
and  which  was  the  only  one  that  had  the  lead  ap- 
pearance of  conjuration.  Mod  of  the  members  car- 
ried in  their  hands-  an  otter  or  marten's  fkin,  which 
being  taken  whole  from  the  body,  and  filled  with 
wind,  on  being  compreffed  made  a  fqueaking  noife 
through  a  fmall  piece  of  wood  organically  formed 
and  fixed  in  its  mouth.  When  this  inftrument  was 
prefented  to  the  face  of  any  of  the  company,  and  the 
found  emitted,  the  perfon  receiving  it  inftantly  fell 
down  to  appearance  dead.  Sometimes  two  or  three* 
both  men  and  women,  were  on  the  ground  toge- 
ther; but  immediately  recovering,  they  rofe  up  and 
joined  again  in  the  dance.  This  feemed  to  afford, 
even  the  chiefs  themfelves,  infinite  diverfion.  I 
afterwards  learned  that  theie  were  their  Dii  Penates 
or  Koufehold  Gods. 


ie>o 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


After  forne  hours  fpent  in  this  manner  the  feail 
began;  the  dimes  being  brought  near  me,  I  per- 
ceived that  they  confiited  of  dog's  flefh;  and  I  was 
informed  that  at  all  their  public  grand  feafts  they  ne- 
ver made  uie  of  any  other  kind  of  food.  For  this 
purpofe,  at  the  featt  I  am  now  fpeaking  of,  the  new 
candidate  provides  fat  dogs,  if  they  can  be  procured, 
at  any  price. 

In  this  ciiftom  of  eating  dog's  fieih  on  particular 
occafions,  they  referable  the  inhabitants  of  fome  of 
the  countries  that  lie  on  the  north-eafl  borders  of 
Afia.  The  author  of  the  account  of  Kamfchatka, 
publiihed  by  order  of  the  Emprefs  of  RurTia  (before 
referred  to)  informs  us,  that  the  people  inhabiting 
Koieka,  a  country  north  of  Kamfchatka,  who  wan- 
der about  in  hordes  like  the  Arabs,  when  they  pay 
their  worihip  to  the  evil  »beings,  kill  a  rein-deer  or 
a  dog,  the  ric£h  of  which  they  eat,  and  leave  the 
head  and  tongue  ftickingon  a  pole  with  the  front  to- 
wards the  earL  Alfo  that  when  they  are  afraid  of 
any  infectious  difuemper,  they  kill  a  dog,  and  wind- 
ing the  guts  about  two  poles,  pafs  between  them. 
Thefe  cuitoms,  in  which  they  are  nearly  imitated 
by  the  Indians,  feem  to  aid  ltrength  to  my  fuppo- 
fition,  that  America  was  firft  peopled  from  this 
quarter. 

I  know  not  under  what  clafs  of  dances  to  rank 
that  performed  by  the  Indians  who  came  to  my  tent 
when  Handed  near  Lake  Pepin,  on  the  banks  of  the 
MitfhTippi,  as  related  in  my  Journal.  When  I  look- 
ed out,  as  I  there  mentioned,  I  faw  about  twenty 
naked  young  Indians,  the  mo  ft  perfect  in  their  fhape, 
and.  by  far  the  handibmefr  of  any  I  had  ever  feen, 
coming  towards  me,  and  dancing  as  they  approached, 
to  the  mufic  of  their  drums.  At  every  ten  or  twelve 
Is  they  halted,  and   fet  up  their  yells  and  cries. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  18: 

When  they  reached  my  tent,  I  afked  them  to  come 
in ;  which,  without  deigning  to  make  me  any  anfwer, 
they  did.  As  I  obferved  that  they  were  painted  red 
and  black,  as  they  ufually  are  when  they  go  againft 
an  enemy,  and  perceived  that  fome  parts  of  the  war- 
dance  were  intermixed  with  their  other  movements, 
I  doubted  not  but  they  were  fet  on  by  the  inimical 
chief  who  had  refufed  my  falutation ;  I  therefore  de- 
termined to  fell  my  life  as  dear  as  poflible.  To  this 
purpofe,  I  received  them  fitting  on  my  cheft,  with 
my  gun  and  piftols  befide  me,  and  ordered  my  men 
to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  them,  and  to  be  alfo  upon 
their  guard. 

The  Indians  being  entered,  they  continued  their 
dance  alternately,  finging  at  the  fame  time  of  their 
heroic  exploits,  and  the  fuperiority  of  their  race  over 
every  other  people.  To  enforce  their  language, 
though  it  was  uncommonly  nervous  and  expreflive, 
and  fuch  as  would  of  itfelf  have  carried  terrior  to  the 
firmeft  heart,  at  the  end  of  every  period  they  ftruck 
their  war-clubs  againft  the  poles  of  my  tent,  with 
fuch  violence,  that  I  expected  every  moment  it  would 
have  tumbled  upon  us.  As  each  of  them,  in  danc- 
ing round,  palled  by  me,  they  placed  their  right 
hands  over  their  eyes,  and  coming  clofe  to  me,  look- 
ed me  fteadily  in  the  face,  which  I  could  not  con- 
ftrue  into  a  token  of  friendfhip.  My  men  gave 
themfelves  up  for  loft,  and  I  acknowledge,  for  my 
own  part,  that  I  never  found  my  apprehenfions  more 
tumultuous  on  anyoccafion. 

When  they  had  nearly  ended  their  dance,  I  pre- 
fented  to  them  the  pipe  of  peace,  but  they  would 
not  receive  it.  I  then,  as  my  lad  refource,  thought 
I  would  try  what  prefents  would  do;  accordingly  I 
rook  from  my  cheft  fome  ribands  and  trinkets,  which 
1  laid  before  them.     Thefe  feemed  to  ftao-ger  their 


38*  CARVER'S     TRA  V  ELS. 

refolutions,  and  to  avert  in  fome  degree  their  anger; 
for  after  holding  a  confutation  together,  they  fat 
down  on  the  ground,  which  I  confidered  as  a  favor- 
able omen. 

Thus  it  proved,  as  in  a  fhort  time  they  received 
the  pipe  of  peace,  and  lighting  it,  fir  ft  prefented  it 
to  me,  and  then  fmoked  with  it  themfelves.  Soon 
after  they  took  up  the  prefents,  which  had  hitherto 
lain  neglected,  and  appearing  to  be  greatly  pleafed 
with  them,  departed  in  a  friendly  manner.  And 
never  did  I  receive  greater  pleafure  than  at  getting 
rid  of  fuch  formidable  guefts. 

It  was  not  ever  in  my  power  to  gain  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  defigns  of  my  vifitors.  I  had  fuf- 
flcient  reafon  to  conclude  that  they  were  hoftile, 
and  that  their  vifit,  at  fo  late  an  hour,  was  made 
through  the  inftigation  of  the  Grand  Sautorj  but  I 
was  afterwards  informed  that  it  might  be  intended  as 
a  compliment  which  they  ufualiy  pay  to  the  chiefs 
of  every  other  nation  who  happen  to  fall  in  with 
them,  and  that  the  circumftances  in  their  conduct:, 
which  had  appeared  fo  fufpicious  to  me,  were  merely 
the  effects  of  their  vanity,  and  defigned  to  imprefs 
on  the  minds  of  thofe  whom  they  thus  vifited  an 
elevated  opinion  of  their  valor  and  prowefs.  In  the 
morning  before  I  continued  my  route,  feveral  of 
their  wives  brought  me  a  pre  fen  t  of  fome  fugar,  for 
whom  I  found  a  few  more  ribands. 

The  dance  of  the  facrifice  is  not  fo  denominated 
from  their  offering  up  at  the  fame  time  a  facrifice 
to  any  good  or  evil  fpirit,  but  is  a  dance  to  which 
the  Naudowefiles  give  that  title  from  being  ufed 
when  any  public  fortunate  circumftance  befals 
them.  Whilft  I  refided  among  them,  a  fine  large 
deer  accidentally  ftrayed  into  the   middle  of  their 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  183 

encampment,  which  they  foon  deflroyed.  As  this 
happened juft  at  the  new  moon,  they  efteemed  it  a 
lucky  omen;  and  having  roafted  it  whole,  every 
one  in  the  camp  partook  of  it.  After  their  feaft, 
they  all  joined  :n  a  iance,  which  they  termed,  from 
its  being  fomewha:  of  a  religious  nature,  a  dance  of 
the  facritice. 


i%  C'ARVER's    TRAVELS, 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


Of  their  Hunting. 


ofth< 


H 


UNTING  is  the  principal  occupation 
ndians  they  are  trained  to  it  from  their  earliefl 
youth,  and  it  is  an  exercife  which  is  adeemed  no  lefs 
honorable  than  neceifary  towards  their  fubfidence. 
A  dexterous  and  refolute  hunter  is  held  nearly  in 
as  great  edimation  by  them  as  a  didinguifhed  war- 
rior. Scarcely  any  device  which  the  ingenuity  of 
man  has  difcovered  for  enfnaringor  dedroying  thofe 
animals  that  fupply  them  with  food,  or  whole  fkins 
are  valuable  to  Europeans,  is  unknown  to  them. 

Whilft  they  are  engaged  in  this  exercife  they  fhake 
off  the  indolence  peculiar  to  their  nature,  and  be- 
come active,  perfevering,  and  indefatigable.  They 
are  equally  fagacious  in  rinding  their  prey,  and  in 
the  means  they  ufe  to  deftroy  it.  They  difcern  the 
footdeps  of  the  beads  they  are  in  purfuit  of,  al- 
though they  are  imperceptible  to  every  other  eye, 
and  can  follow  them  with  certainty  through  the  path- 
lefs  fored. 

The  beads  that  the  Indians  hunt,  both  for  their 
flefli  on  which  they  fubfid,  and  for  their  flcins,  of 
which  they  either  make  their  apparel,  or  barter  with 
the  Europeans  for  neceiTaries,  are  the  buffalo,  the 
elk,  the  deer,  the  moofe,  carribboo,  the  bear,  the 
otter,  the  marten,  &c.     I  defer"  giving 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  185 

a  defcription  of  thefe  crearures  here,    and  fhall  only 
at  prefent  treat  of  their  manner  of  hunting  them. 

The  route  they  fhall  take  for  this  purpofe,  and  the 
parties  that  fnall  go  on  the  different  expeditions  are 
fixed  in  their  general  councils,  which  are  held  fome 
time  in  the  dimmer,  when  all  the  operations  for  the 
enfuing  winter  are  concluded  on.  The  chief- war- 
rior, whofe  province  it  is  to  regulate  their  proceed- 
ings on  this  occafion,  with  great  folemnity  iiTues  out 
an  invitation  to  thole  who  choofe  to  attend  him  5 
for  the  Indians,  as  before  obferved,  acknowledge  no 
fuperiority,  nor  have  they  any  idea  of  compuliion  ; 
and  every  one  that  accepts  it  prepares  himfelf  by 
fading  during  feveral  days. 

The  Indians  do  not  fad  as  fome  other  nations  do, 
on  the  richefl  and  mod  luxurious  food,  but  they  to- 
tally abftain  from  every  kind  either  of  victuals  or 
drink  ;  and  fuch  is  their  patience  and  refolution,  that 
the  mofl  extreme  third  could  not  oblige  them  to 
tafte  a  drop  of  water ;  yet  amidft  this  fevere  ab- 
ftinence  they  appear  cheerful  and  happy. 

The  reafons  they  give  for  thus  fading,  are,  that  it 
enables  them  freely  to  dream,  in  which  dreams  they 
are  informed  where  they  fnall  find  the  greated  plenty 
of  game  3  and  alfo  that  it  averts  the  difpleafure  of  the 
evil  fpirits,  and  induces  them  to  be  propitious.  They 
alfo  on  thefe  occafions  blacken  thofe  parts  of  their 
bodies  that  are  uncovered. 

The  fad  being  ended,  and  the  place  of  hunting 
made  known,  the  chief  who  is  to  conduct  them, 
gives  a  grand  fead  to  thofe  who  are  to  form  the  dif- 
ferent parties  ;  of  which  none  of  them  dare  to  par- 
take till  they  have  bathed  themfelves.  At  this  lead, 

A  a 


iS6  C  A  R  V  E  R  '  s    T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

notwithfianding  they  have  faded  fo  long,  they  eat 
with  great  moderation  ;  and  the  chief  that  prefides 
employs  himfelf  in  rehearfing  the  feats  of  thofe  who 
have  been  moil  fuccefsful  in  the  bufinefs  they  are 
about  to  enter  upon.  They  foon  after  fet  out  on 
the  march  towards  the  place  appointed,  painted  or 
rather  bedawbed  wich  black,  amidft  the  acclama- 
tions of  ail  the  people. 

It  is  impoflible  to  defcribe  their  agility  or  perfeve- 
rance,  whi 111  they  are  in  purfuit  of  their  prey ;  neither 
thickets,  ditches,  torrents,  pools,  or  rivers  flop  them; 
they  always  go  ftraight  forward  in  the  mod  direct 
line  they  pcfnbly  can,  and  there  are  few  of  the  fa- 
vage  inhabitants  of  the  woods  that  they  cannot  over- 
take. 

When  they  hunt  for  bears,  they  endeavour  to 
find  out  their  retreats  -,  for,  during  the  winter,  thefe 
animals  conceal  themfclves  in  the  hollow  trunks  of 
trees,  or  make  themfclves  holes  in  the  ground,  where 
they  continue  without  food,  whilft  the  fevere  weather 
lafts. 

When  the  Indians  think  they  have  arrived  at  a 
place  where  thele  creatures  uiuaily  haunt,  they  form 
themfelves  into  a  circle  according  to  their  number, 
and  moving  onward,  endeavour,  as  they  advance  to- 
wards the  centre,  to  difcover  the  retreats  of  their 
prey.  By  this  means,  ifanyliein  the  intermediate 
fpace,  they  are  fure  of  aroujQng  them,  and  bringing 
them  down  either  with  their  bows  or  their  guns.  The 
bens  will  take  to  flight  at  fight  of  a  man  or  a  dog, 
and  will  oniy  make  refifxance  when  they  are  ex- 
tremely hungry,  or  after  they  are  wounded. 

The  Indian,  method  of  hunting  the  buffalo  is  by 
fbrming  a  circle   or  a   iqi:arc,  nearly  in   the   fame 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  i87 

manner  as  when  they  fearch  for  the  bear.  Having 
taken  their  different  ftations,  they  fet  the  grafs,  which 
at  this  time  is  rank  and  dry,  on  fire,  and  thefe  ani- 
mals, who  are  extremely  fearful  of  that  element, 
flying  with  precipitation  before  it,  great  numbers  are 
hemmed  in  a  fmall  compafs,  and  fcarcely  a  fi  gle 
one  efcapes. 

They  have  different  ways  of  hunting  the  elk,  the 
deer,  and  the  carribboo.  Sometimes  they  leek  them 
out  in  the  woods,  to  which  they  retire  during  the 
feverity  of  the  cold,  where  they  are  eafily  mot  from 
behind  the  trees.  In  the  more  northern  climates 
they  take  the  advantage  of  the  weather  to  deftroy 
the  elk  ;  when  the  fun  hasjuft  ltrength  enough  to 
melt  the  fnow,  and  the  froft  in  the  night  forms  a 
kind  of  crufl  on  the  furface,  this  creature  being 
heavy,  breaks  it  with  his  forked  hoofs,  and  with  dif- 
ficulty extricates  himfelf  from  it :  at  this  time  there- 
fore he  is  foon  overtaken  and  deftroyed. 

Some  nations  have  made  a  method  of  hunting 
thefe  animals  which  is  more  eafily  executed,  and  free 
from  danger.  The  hunting  party  divide  themfelves 
into  two  bands,  and  choofing  a  fpot  near  the  bor- 
ders of  fame  river,  one  party  embarks  on  board 
their  canoes,  whilft  the  other  forming  themfelves  in- 
to a  femi-circle  on  the  land,  the  flanks  of  which 
reach  the  more,  let  loofe  their  dogs,  and  by 
this  means  roufe  all  the  game  that  lies  within  thefe 
bounds  ;  they  then  drive  them  towards  the  river,  in- 
to which  they  no  fooner  enter,  than  the  greater!: 
part  of  them  are  immediately  difpatched  by  thofe 
who  remain  in  the  canoes. 

Both  the  elk  and  buffalo  are  very  furious  when  they 
are  wounded,  and  will  return  fiercely  on  their  pur- 
•uersj  and  trample  them  under  their  feet,  if  the  hua- 


i38  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

ter  finds  no  means  to  complete  their  deftruction,  or 
does  not  feek  for  fecurity  in  flight  to  ibme  adjacent 
tree  -,  by  this  method  they  a.^e  frequently  avoided, 
and  fo  tired  with  the  purfuit,  that  they  voluntarily 
give  it  over. 

But  the  hunting  in  which  the  Indians,  particularly 
thofe  who  inhabit  the  northern  parts,  chiefly  employ 
themfelves,  and  from  which  they  reap  the  greateft 
advantage,  is  the  beaver  hunting.  The  feaibn  for 
this  is  throughout  the  whole  of  the  winter,  from 
November  to  April  ;  d tiling  which  time  the  fur  of 
thefe  creatures  is  in  the  greateft  perfection.  A  de- 
fcription  of  this  extraordinary  animal,  the  centime- 
tion  of  their  huts,  and  the  regulations  of  their  almofl 
rational  community,  I  fhail  give  in  another  place. 

The  hunters  make  ufe  of  fcveral  methods  to  de- 
ftroy  them.  Thofe  gener?lly  practifed,  are  either 
that  of  taking  them  in  fnares,  cutting  through  the 
ice,  or  opening  their  caufeways. 

As  the  eyes  ofthefe  animals  are  very  quick,  and 
their  hearing  exceedingly  acute,  great  precaution  is 
neceffary  in  approaching  their  abodes;  for  as  they 
feldom  go  far  from  the  water,  and  their  houfes  are  al- 
ways built  ciofe  to  the  fide  of  fome  large  river  or 
lake,  or  dams  cf  their  own  conflructing,  upon  the 
le aft  alarm  they  haften  to  the  deepeft  part  of  the 
water,  and  dive  immediately  to  the  bottom  ;  as  they 
do  this  they  make  a  great  noife  by  beating  the  water 
#kh  their  tails,  on  purpofe  to  put  the  whole  fraternity 
on  their  guard. 

They  take  them  with  fnares  in  the  following 
manner  :  though  the  beavers  ufually  lay  up  a  fuffi- 
cient  flore  of  provifion  to  ferve  for  their  fubfiftence 
curing  the  winter,theymake  from  time  to  time  excur- 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS*  18$ 

fions  to  the  neighbouring  woods  to  procure  further 
fupplies  of  food.  The  hunters  having  found  out  their 
haunts,  place  a  trap  in  their  way,  baited  with  Small 
pieces  of  bark,  or  young  fhoots  of  trees,  which  the 
beaver  has  no  fooner  laid  hold  of,  than  a  large  log  of 
wood  falls  upon  him,  and  breaks  his  back  ■,  his  ene- 
mies, who  are  upon  the  watch,  foon  appear,  and  in- 
ftantly  difpatch  the  helplefs  animal. 

At  other  tines,  when  the  ice  on  the  rivers  and 
lakes  is  about  half  a  foot  thick,  they  make  an  open- 
ing through  it  with  their  hatchets,  to  which  the 
beavers  will  foon  haflen,  on  being  diilurbed  at  their 
houfes,  for  a  fupply  of  frefn  air.  As  their  breath 
occafions  a  considerable  motion  in  the  water,  the 
hunter  has  fuiticient  notice  of  their  approach,  and 
methods  are  eafily  taken  for  knocking  them  on  the 
head  the  moment  they  appear  above  the    furface. 

When  the  houfe  of  the  beavers  happen  to  be  near 
a  rivulet,  they  are  more  eafily  deftroyed  :  the  hun- 
ters then  cut  the  ice,  and  fpreading  a  net  under  it, 
break  down  the  cabins  of  the  beavers,  who  never 
fail  to  make  towards  the  deepeft  part,  where  they  are 
entangled  and  taken.  But  they  muft  not  be  fufTered 
to  remain  there  long,  as  they  would  foon  extricate 
themfeives  with  their  teeth,  which  are  well  known  to 
be  exceiTively  fharp  and  firong. 

The  Indians  take  great  care  to  hinder  their  dogs 
from  touching  the  bones  of  the  beavers.  The  rea^ 
fons  they  give  for  thefe  precautions,  are,  firft,  that 
the  bones  are  fo  exceffively  hard,  that  they  fpoil  the 
teeth  of  their  dogs :  and,  fecondly,  that  they  are 
apprehenfive  they  fhall  fo  exafperate  the  fpirits  of 
the  beavers  by  this  permiffion,  as  to  render  the  next 
hunting  feafon  unfuccefsfuh 


190 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


The  fkins  of  thefe  animals  the  hunters  exchange 
with  the  Europeans  for  neceffaries,  and  as  they  are 
more  valued  by  the  latter  than  any  other  kind  of 
furs,  they  pay  the  greatelt  attention  to  this  fpecies 
of  hunting. 

When  the  Indians  deflroy  buffaloes,  elks,  deer, 
&c.  they  generally  divide  the  flefh  of  fueh  as  they 
have  taken  among  the  tribe  to  which  they  belong. 
But  in  hunting  the  beaver  a  few  families  ufuaily 
unite  and  divide  the  fpoil  between  them.  Indeed,  in 
the  firft  inftance  they  generally  pay  fome  attention 
in  the  divifion  to  their  own  families :  but  no  jealou- 
fies  or  murmurings  are  ever  known  to  arife  on  ac- 
count of  any  apparent  partiality. 

Among  the  Naudoweflies,  if  a  perfon  fhoots  a  deer, 
buffaloe,  &x.  and  it  runs  to  a  confiderable  diflance 
before  it  drops,  where  a  perfon  belonging  to  another 
tribe,  being  nearer,  firft  flicks  a  knife  into  it,  the 
game  is  conndered  as  the  property  of  the  latter,  not- 
withflanding  it  had  been  mortally  wounded  by  the 
former.  Though  this  cuftom  appears  to  be  arbitrary 
and  unjufl,  yet  that  people  cheerfully  fubmit  to  it. 
This  decifion  is,  however,  very  different  from  that 
practifed  by  the  Indians  on  the  back  of  the  colonies, 
where  the  firft  perfon  that  hits  it  is  entitled  to  the 
beft  fhare. 


CARVER'S  TRAVELS,       191 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Of  their  manner  cf  making  IVar^  &c. 


T 


HE  Indians  begin  to  bear  arms  at  the  age 
of  fifteen,  and  lay  them  afide  when  they  arrive  at  the 
age  of  fixty.  Some  nations  to  the  fouthward,  I  have 
been  informed,  do  not  continue  their  military  exer- 
cifes  after  they  are  fifty. 
^  »► 

In  every  band  or  nation  there  is  a  felect  number 
who  are  (tiled  the  wat  riors,  and  who  are  always  rea- 
dy to  acl:  either  ofFenfively  or  defenfively,  as  occafion 
requires.  Thefe  are  well  armed,  bearing  the  wea- 
pons commonly  in  ufe  among  them,  which  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  fituation  of  their  countries.  Such  as 
have  an  intercourfe  with  the  Europeans  make  ufe  of 
tomahawks,  knives,  and  fire-arms  ;  but  thofe  whofe 
dwellings  are  fituated  to  the  weflward  of  the  Miffiflip- 
pi,  and  who  have  not  an  opportunity  of  purchafmg 
thefe  kinds  of  weapons,  ufe  bows  and  arrows,  and 
alfo  the  Calfe  Tete  or  War-Club.     - 

The  Indians  that  inhabit  (till  further  to  the  weft- 
ward,  a  country  which  extends  to  the  South  Sea,  ufe 
in  fight,  a  warlike  inflrument  that  is  very  uncom- 
mon. Having  great  plenty  of  horfes  they  always  at- 
tack their  enemies  on  horfeback,  and  encumber 
themfelves  with  n.o  other  weapon,  than  a  ftone  of  a 
middLing  fize,  curioufly  wrought,  which  they  fallen 
by  a  firing,  about  a  yard  and  a  half  long,  to  their 
right  arms,  a  little  above  the  elbow.     Thefe  fiones 


i92  C  A  R  V  E  R's     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

they  conveniently  carry  in  their  hands,  till  they 
reach  their  enemies,  and  then  fwinging  them  with 
great  dexterity,  as  they  ride  full  fpeed,  never  fail  of 
doing  execution.  The  country  which  thefe  tribes 
poiTefs,  abounding  with  large  extenfive  plains,  thofe 
who  attack  them  feldom  return  ;  as  the  fwiftnefs  of 
the  horfes,  on  which  they  are  mounted,  enables  them 
to  overtake  even  the  fleeted  of  their  invaders. 

The  Nauaowe flies,  who  had  been  at  war  with  this 
people,  informed  me,  that  unlefs  they  found  moraf- 
fesor  thickets  to  which  they  could  retire,  they  were 
fure  of  being  cut  off:  to  prevent  this  they  always 
took  care  whenever  they  made  an  onfet,  to  do  it  ntar 
fuch  retreats  as  were  imp  an  able  for  cavalry,  they 
then  having  a  great  advantage  over  their  enemies, 
v/hofe  weapons  would  not  there  reach  them. 

Some  nations  make  ufe  of  a  javelin,  pointed  with 
bone,  worked  into  different  forms  5  but  their  Indian 
weapons  in  general  are  bows  and  arrows,  and  the 
Ihort  club  already  mentioned.  The  latter  is  made 
of  a  very  hard  wood,  and  the  head  of  it  fafhioned 
round  like  a  ball,  about  three  inches  and  a  half  dia- 
meter j  in  this  rotund  part  is  fixed  an  edge  refem- 
bling  that  of  a  tomahawk,  either  of  fteel  or  flint, 
whichfoever  they  can  procure. 

The  dagger  is  peculiar  to  the  Naudow-eflie  nation, 
and  of  ancient  confcruclion,  but  they  can  give  no  ac- 
count how  long  it  has  been  in  ufe  among  them.  It 
was  originally  made  of  flint  or  bone,  but  fince  they 
have  had  communication  with  the  European  traders, 
they  have  formed  it  of  fleel.  The  length  of  it  is  about 
ten  inches,  and  that  part  clofe  to  the  handle  nearly 
three  inches  broad".  Its  edges  are  keen,  and  it  gradu- 
ally  tapeis  towards  a  point.  They  wear  it  in  a 
of-deti'*   leather,  r.e./fv  ornamented 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


*93 


with  porcupine  quills  -,  and  it  is  ufually  hung  by  a 
firing,  decorated  in  the  fame  manner,  which  reaches 
as  low  only  as  the  bread.  This  curious  weapon  is 
worn  by  a  few  of  the  principal  chiefs  alone,  and 
confidered  both  as  an  ufeful  inftrument,  and  an  or- 
namental badge  of  fuperiority. 

I  obferved  among  the  Naudo  we  flies  a  few  targets 
or  fhields  made  of  raw  buffalo  hides,  and  in  the  form 
of  thofe  ufed  by  the  ancients.  But  as  the  mumber 
of  thefe  was  fmall,  and  I  could  not  gain  no  intelli- 
gence of  the  sera  in  which  they  rirft  were  introduced 
among  them.  I  fuppofe  thofe  I  law  had  defcended 
from  father  to  fon  for  many  generations. 

The  reafons  the  Indians  give  for  making  war 
againft  one  another,  are  much  the  fame  as  thofe 
urged  by  more  civilized  nations,  for  difturbingthe 
tranquillity  of  their  neighbours.  The  pleas  of  the 
former  are  however  in  general  more  rational  and 
juft,  than  fuch  as  are  brought  by  Europeans  in  vin- 
dication of  their  proceedings. 

The  extenfion  of  empire  is  feldom  a  motive  with 
thefe  people  to  invade,  and  to  commit  depredations 
on  the  territories  of  thofe  who  happen  to  dwell  near 
them.  To  fecure  the  rights  of  hunting  v/ithin  par* 
ticular  limits,  to  maintain  the  liberty  of  parting 
through  their  accuftomed  tracks,  and  to  guard  thofe 
lands  which  they  confider  from  a  long  tenure  as  their 
own,  againft  any  infringement,  are  the  general  caufes 
of  thofe  difieniions  that  fo  often  breakout  between 
the  Indian  nations,  and  which  are  carried  on  with  fo 
much  animofity. 

Though  ftrangers  to  the  idea  of  feparate  property 
yet  the  moil  uncultivated  among  them  are  well  ac- 

Bb 


i94.  CARVER's     TRAVELS. 

quainted  with  the  rights  of  their  community  to  the 
domains  they  pofTefs,  and  oppofe  with  vigor  every 
encroachment  on  them. 

Notwitliftanding  it  is  generally  fuppofed  that  from 
f  territories  being  fo  extenfive,  the  boundaries  of 
them  cannot  be  afcertained,  yet  I  am  well  allured 
that  the  limits  of  each  nation  in  the  interior  parts  are 
laid  down  in  their  rude  plans  with  great  precifion. 
By  theirs,  as  I  have  before  obferved,  was  I  enabled 
ro  regulate  my  own;  and  after  the  mod  exact  ob- 
servations and  inquiries  found  very  few  inilances  in 
which  they  erred. 

But  interefl  is  not  either  the  mod  frequent  or 
molt  powerful  incentive  to  their  making  war  on 
each  other.  The  paflion  of  revenge,  which  is  the 
difiinguiming  characterifric  of  thefe  people,  is  the 
moft  general  motive.  Injuries  are  felt  by  them 
with  exquifite  fenfibility,  and  vengeance  purfucd 
with  unremitted  ardor.  To  this  may  be  added, 
that  natural  excitation  which  everylndian  becomes 
fenfible  of  as  ibon  as  he  approaches  the  age  of 
manhood  to  give  proofs  of  his  valour  and  prowefs. 

As  they  are  early  poiTeiTed  with  a  notion  that  war 
ought  to  be  the  chief  bufmefs  of  their  lives,  that 
there  is  nothing  mere  defirous  than  the  reputation 
of  being  a  great  warrior,  and  that  the  fcalps  of  their 
enemies,  or  a  number  of  priibners  are  alone  to  be 
efteemed  valuable,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
the  younger  Indian j  are  continually  refllefs  and  un- 
eaiy  if  their  ardor  is  repreffed,  and  they  are  kept  in 
a  ltate  of  inactivity.  Either  of  thefe  propensities, 
the  defire  of  revenge,  or  the  gratification  of  an  im- 
pulfe,  that  by  degrees  becomes  habitual  to  them,  is 
iiimcient,  frequently,  to  induce  them  to  commit 
hoflilities  on  fome  of  the  neighbouring  nations. 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  i9S 

When  the  chiefs  find  any  occafion  for  making 
war,  they  endeavour  to  aroufe  thefe  habitudes,  and 
by  that  means  foon  excite  their  warriors  to  take 
arms.  To  this  purpofe  they  make  ufe  of  their  mar- 
tial eloquence,  nearly  in  the  following  words,  which 
never  fails  of  proving  effectual;  cc  The  bones  of  our 
<c  deceafed  countrymen  lie  uncovered,  they  call  out 
cc  to  us  to  revenge  their  wrongs,  and  we  mure  fa- 
Cf  tisfy  their  requeft.  Their  (pints  cry  cut  againft 
tc  us.  They  mud  be  appcafed.  The  genii,  who 
<c  are  the  guardians  of  our  honor,  infpire  us  with 
cc  a  refolution  to  feek  the  enemies  of  our  murdered 
iC  brothers.  Let  us  go  and  devour  thofe  by  whom 
c:  they  were  (lain.  Sit  therefore  no  longer  inactive, 
**  give  way  to  the  impuife  of  your  natural  valor, 
cc  anoint  your  hair,  paint  your  faces,  till  your  qui- 
cc  vers,  caufe  the  for  efts  torefound  with  your  fongs, 
<f  confole  the  fpirits  of  the  dead,  and  tell  them  they 
<(  mail  be  revenged. :> 

Animated  by  thefe  exhortations  the  warriors 
fnatch  their  arms  in  a  tranfport  of  fury,  fing  the  fong 
of  war,  and  burn  with  impatience  to  imbrue  their 
hands  in  the  blood  of  their  enemies. 

Sometimes  private  chiefs  affemble  fmall  parties, 
and  make  excurfions  againft  thofe  with  whom  they 
are  at  war,  or  fuch  as  have  injured  them.  A  fingie 
warrior,  prompted  by  revenge  or  a  defire  to  fhow 
his  prowefs,  will  march  unattended  for  feveral  hun- 
dred miles,  to  furprife  and  cut  off  a  ftraggling  party. 

Thefe  irregular  fallies  however,  are  not  always 
approved  of  by  the  elder  chiefs,  though  they  are 
often  obliged  to  connive  at  them;  as  in  the  inftance 
before  given  of  the  NaudowefTie  and  Chipeway 
nations. 


:96  C  A  R  V  E  R's     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

But  when  a  war  is  national,  and  undertaken  by 
the  cummunity,  their  deliberations  are  formal  and 
flow.  The  elders  affemble  in  council,  to  which  all 
the  head  warriors  and  young  men  are  admitted, 
where  they  deliver  their  opinions  in  folemn  fpeeches, 
weighing  with  maturity  the  nature  of  the  enterprife 
they  are  about  to  engage  in,  and  balancing  with 
great  fagacity  the  advantages  or  inconveniences  that 
will  arile  from  it. 

Their  priefls  are  alfq  confulted  on  the  fubject, 
and  even,  fometimes,  the  advice  of  the  moil  intel- 
ligent of  their  women  is  afked. 

If  the  determination  be  for  war,  they  prepare  for 
it  with  much  ceremony. 

The  chief  warrior  of  a  nation  does  not  on  all  oc« 
cafions  head  the  war  party  himfelf,  he  frequently 
deputes  a  warrior  of  whofe  valor  and  prudence  he  has 
a  good  opinion.  The  perfon  thus  fixed  on  being 
ftrft  bedawbed  with  black,  obferves  a  fait  of  feveral 
days,  during  which  he  invokes  the  Great  Spirit,  or 
deprecates  the  anger  of  the  evil  ones,  holding  whilft 
it  laits  no  converfe  with  any  of  his  tribe. 

He  is  particularly  careful  at  the  fame  time  to  ob- 
ferve  his  dreams,  for  on  thefe  do  they  fuppofe  their 
fucecfs  will  in  a  great  meafure  depend  >  and  from  the 
firm  perfu'afion  every  Indian  actuated  by  his  own 
prefumptuous  thoughts  is  impreiTed  with,  that  he 
fhall  march  forth  to  certain  victory,  thefe  are  gene- 
i ally  favorable  to  his  wifhes. 

After  he  has  failed  as  long  as  cuitom  prefcribes, 
he  affembles  the  warriors,  and  holding  a  belt  of 
wampum  in  his  hand,  thus  addrefTes  them; 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  lg7 

cc  Brothers !  by  the  infpiration  of  the  Great  Spi- 
"  rit  I  now  fpeak  unto  you,  and  by  him  am  I 
*c  prompted  to  carry  into  execution  the  intentions 
fc  which  I  am  about  to  difclofe  to  you.  The  blood 
"  of  our  deceafed  brothers  is  not  yet  wiped  away; 
•"  their  bodies  are  not  yet  covered,  and  I  am  going 
"  to  perform  this  duty  to  them. " 


Having  then  made  known  to  them  all  the  motives 
that  induce  him  to  take  up  arms  againft  the  nation 
with  whom  they  are  to  engage,  he  thus  proceeds: 
cc  I  have  therefore  refolved  to  march  through  the 
cc  war  path  to  furprife  them.  "We  will  eat  their 
**  flefh,  and  drink  their  blood;  we  will  take  fcalps, 
cc  and  make  prjfoners;  and  fhould  we  perifh  in  this 
<c  glorious  cnterprife,  we  fhall  not  be  for  ever  hid 
■c  in  theduft,  for  this  belt  fhall  be  a  recompenfe  to 
vC  to  him  who  buries  the  dead."  Having  faid  this, 
he  lays  the  belt  on  the  ground,  and  he  who  takes  it 
up  declares  himfelf  his  lieutenant,  and  is  confidered 
as  the  fecond  in  command;  this,  however,  is  only 
done  by  fome  diftinguifhed  warrior  who  has  a  right 
fry  the  number  of  his  fcalps,  to  the  poft. 

Though  the  Indians  thus  afTert  that  they  will  eat 
the  flefh  and  drink  the  blood  of  their  enemies,  the 
threat  is  only  to  be  confidered  as  a  figurative  expref- 
fion.  Notwithstanding  they  iometimes  devour  the 
hearts  of  thofe  they  (lay,  and  drink  their  bood,  by 
way  of  bravado,  or  to  gratify  in  a  more  complete 
manner  their  revenge,  yet  they  are  not  naturally 
anthropophagi,  nor  ever  feed  on  the  flefh  of  men. 

The  chief  is  now  warned  from  his  fable  covering, 
anointed  with  bear's  fat,  and  painted  with  their  red 
paint,  in  fuch  figures  as  will  make  him  appear  moft 
terrible  to  his  enemies.  He  then  fings  the  war  fong, 
and  enumerates,  his  warlike  actions.     Having  done 


!93  CARVE  R's     TRAVELS. 

this  he  fixes  his  eyes  on  the  fun,  and  pays  his  adora- 
tions to  the  Great  Spirit,  in  which  he  is  accompa- 
nied by  all  the  warriors. 

This  ceremony  is  followed  with  dances,  Rich  as  I 
have  before  defcribed;  and  the  whole  concludes  with 
a  feaft,  which  ufually  confifts  of  dog's  flefh. 

This  feaft  is  held  in  the  hut  or  tent  of  the  chief 
warrior,  to  which  all  thofe  who  intend  to  accom- 
pany him  in  his  expedition  fend  their  difhes  to  be 
tilled;  and  during  the  feaft,  notwithstanding  he  has 
failed  fo  long,  he  fits  compofedly  with  his  pipe  in 
his  mouth,  and  recounts  the  valorous  deeds  of  his 
family. 

As  the  hopes  of  having  their  wounds,  fhould  they 
receive  any,  properly  treated,  and  expeditioufly 
cured,  rnuft  be  fome  additional  inducement  to  the 
warriors  to  cxpofe  themfeives  more  freely  to  danger, 
the  priefts,  who  are  alio  their  doctors,  prepare  fuch 
medicines  as  will  prove  efficacious.  With  great  ce- 
remony they  carry  various  roots  and  plants,  and  pre- 
tend that  they  impart  to  them  the  power  of  healing. 

Notwithftanding  this  fuperftitious  method  of  pro- 
ceeding, it  is  very  certain  they  have  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  many  plants  and  herbs  that  are  of  a 
medicinal  quality,  and  which  they  know  how  to  ufe 
with  great  fkill. 

From  the  time  the  refolution  of  engaging  in  a 
war  is  taken,  to  the  departure  of  the  warriors,  the 
nights  are  fpent  in  feftivity,  and  their  days  in  mak- 
ing the  needful  preparations. 

If  it  is  thought  neceffary  by  the  nation  going  to 
war,    to   folicit   the  alliance  of   any  neighbouring 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  i99 

tribe,  they  fix  upon  one  of  their  chiefs  who  fpcaks 
the  langu-age  of  that  people  well,  and  who  is  a  good 
orator,  and  fend  to  them  by  him  a  belt  of  wampum, 
on  which  is  fpecified  the  purport  of  the  embafiy  in 
figures  that  every  nation  is  well  acquainted  with. 
At  the  fame  time  he  carries  with  him  a  hatchet 
painted  red. 

As  foon  as  he  reaches  the  camp  or  village  to  which 
he  is  deftined,  he  acquaints  the  chief  of  the  tribe 
with  the  general  tenor  of  his  commifTion,  who  im- 
mediately afTembles  a  council,  to  which  the  ambaf- 
fador  is  invited.  There  having  laid  the  hatchet  on 
the  ground  he  holds  the  belt  in  his  hand,  and  enters 
more  minutely  into  the  occanon  of  his  embafTy. 
In  his  fpeech  he  invites  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet, 
and  as  foon  as  he  has  finimed  fpeaking  delivers  the 
belt. 

If  his  hearers  are  inclined  to  become  auxiliaries  to 
his  nation,  a  chief  fleps  forward  and  takes  up  the 
hatchet,  and  they  immediately  efpoufe  with  fpirit 
the  caufe  they  have  thus  engaged  to  fupport.  But 
if  on  this  application  neither  the  belt  or  hatchet  are 
accepted,  the  emiffary  concludes  that  the  people 
whole  amftance  he  folicits  have  already  entered  into 
an  alliance  with  the  foes  of  his  nation,  and  returns 
withfpeed  to  inform  his  countrymen  of  his  ill  fuc- 
cefs. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Indians  declare  war 
againft  each  other,  is  by  fending  a  Have  with  a 
hatchet,  the  handle  of  which  is  painted  red,  to  the 
nation  which  they  intend  to  break  with;  and  the 
melTenger,  notwithstanding  the  danger  to  which  he 
is  expofed  from  the  fudden  fury  of  thole  whom  he 
thus  fets  at  defiance,  executes  his  commiffion  with 
great  fidelity. 


2©o  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

Sometimes  this  token  of  defiance  has  fuch  an  in- 
ftantaneous  effect  on  thofe  to  whom  it  is  prefented 
that  in  the  firft  tranfports  of  their  fu"ry  a  finali  party 
will  iiTue  forth,  without  w^ing  for  the  permiflion 
of  the  elder  chiefs,  and  flay*  the  firft  of  the  offend- 
ing nation  they  meet,  cut  open  the  body  and  flick 
a  hatchet  of  the  fame  kind  as  that  they  have  juft  re- 
ceived, into  the  heart  of  their  flaughtered  foe. 
Among  the  more  remote  tribes  this  is  done  with  an 
arrow  or  fpear,  the  end  of  which  is  painted  red. 
And  the  more  to  exafperate,  they  difmember  the 
body,  to  fhew  that  they  efteem  them  not  as  men 
but  as  old  women. 

The  Indians  feldom  take  the  field  in  large  bodies, 

as  fuch  numbers  would  require   a  greater  degree   of 

<*C£  indullry  to  provide  for  their  fubfiftence,  during  their 

_~1    tedious   marches  through  dreary   forefts,    or    long 

^     voyages  over  lakes  and  rivers,  than  they  would  care 

j>  to  bellow. 


r 


Their  armies  are  never  encumbered  with  baggage 
or  military  (lores.  Each  warrior,  beildes  his  wea- 
pons, carries  with  him  only  a  mat,  and  whilft  at  a 
diflance  from  the  frontiers  of  the  enemy  fupports 
himfelf  with  the  game  he  kills  or  the  rifh  he  catches. 

When  they  pafs  through  a  country  where  they 
have  no  apprehenfions  of  meeting  with  an  enemy, 
they  ufe  very  little  precaution:  fometimes  there  are 
fcarcely  a  dozen  warriors  left  together,  the  reft  be- 
ing difperfed  in  purfuit  of  their  game  3  but  though 
they  mould  have  roved  to  a  very  confiderable  diflance 
from  the  war-parth,  they  are  fure  to  arrive  at  the 
place  of  rendezvous  by  the  hour  appointed. 

They  always  pitch  their  tents  long  before  fun-fet; 
and  being  naturally  prefumptuous,    take  very  little 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  2or 

care  to  guard  againft  a  fnrprife.  They  place  great 
confidence  in  their  Manitous,  or  houfehold  gods3 
which  they  always  carry  wich  them;  and  being  per- 
fuaded  that  they  take  upon  them  the  office  of cen- 
tinels,  they  fleep  very  fecurely  under  their  pro- 
tection. 

Thefe  Manitous,  as  they  are  called  by  fome  na- 
tions, but  which  are  termed  Wakons,  that  is,  fpi- 
rits,  by  the  Naudowefiies,  are  nothing  more  than 
the  otter  and  marten  fkins  I  have  already  defcribed, 
for  which,  however,  they  have  a  great  veneration*. 

After  they  have  entered  the  enemy's  country, 
no  people  can  be  more  cautious  and  circumfpedt; 
fires  are  no  longer  lighted,  no  more  ihouting  is 
heard,  nor  the  game  any  longer  purfued.  They 
are  not  even  permitted  to  fpeak;  but  muft  convey 
whatever  they  have  to  impart  to  each  other  by  figns 
and  motions. 

They  now  proceed  wholly  by  ftratagem  and  am- 
bufcade.  Having  difcovered  their  enemies,  they 
fend  to  reconnoiire  them;  and  a  council  is  immedi- 
ately held,  during  which  they  fpeak  only  in  whifpers, 
to  confider  of  the  intelligence  imparted'by  thofe  who 
were  Cent  out. 

The  attack  is  generally  made  juft  before  day 
break,  at  which  period  they  fuppofe  their  foes  to  be 
in  their  foundeft  ileep.  Throughout  the  whole  of 
the  preceding  night  they  will  lie  flat  upon  their 
faces,  without  ftirring;  and  make  their  approaches 
in  the  fame  poflure,  creeping  upon  their  hands  and 
feet  till  they  they  are  got  within  bowihot of  thofe 
they  have  deftined  to  destruction.  On  a  fignal  given- 
by  the  chief  warrior,  to  which  the  whole  body  makes 
Cc 


C  A  R  V  E  R'5     T  R  A  V  ELS. 

anfwer  by  the  mod  hideous  yells,  they  all  ftart  up, 
and  difcharging  their  arrows  in  the  fame  inftant, 
without  giving  their  adverfaries  time  to  recover  from 
the  confuficn  into  which  they  are  thrown,  pour  in 
upon  them  with  their  war-clubs  or  tomahawks. 

r 

The  Indians  think  there  is  little  glory  to  be  ac- 
quired from  attacking  their  enemies  openly  in  the 
fiejd  ;  their  greateft  pride  is  to  furprife  and  deflroy. 
They  feidom  engage  without  a  manifeft  appearance 
of  advantage.  If  they  find  the  enemy  on  their  guard, 
too  nrongly  entrenched,  or  fuperior  in  numbers,  they 
retire,  provided  their  is  an  opportunity  of  doing  fo, 
And  they  efteem  it  the  greateft  qualification  of  a 
chief  warrior,  to  be  able  to  manage  an  attack,  fo  as 
to  deflroy  as  many  of  the  enemy  as  poMIble,  at  the 
expence  of  a  few  men. 

Sometimes  they  iecure  themfelves  behind  trees, 
hillocks,  or  ftones,  and  having  given  one  or  two 
rounds  retire  before  they  arc  di [covered.  Europeans, 
who  are  unacquainted  with  this  method  of  righting 
too  often  find  to  their  coll  the  deftru&iye  efficacy 
of  it. 

General  Braddock  was  one  of  this  unhappy  num- 
ber. Marching  in  the  year  1755,  to  attack  Fort 
Du  Quefne,  he  was  intercepted  by  a  party  of  French 
and  confederate  Indians  in  their  intereft,  who  by  this 
inficlious  method  of  engaging  found  means  to  defeat 
his  army,  which  confifted  of  about  two  thoufand 
brave  and  well  difciplined  troops.  So  fecurely  were 
the  Indians  polled,  that  the  Engliin  fcarcely  knew 
from  whence  or  whom  they  were  thus  annoyed. 
During  the  whole  of  the  engagement,  the  latter  had 
fcarcely  a  fight  of  an  enemy  j  and  were  obliged  to 
retreat  witli out  the  iatisfadion  of  being  able  to  take 
the  leaf!   degree   of  revenge  for  the   havoc   made 


C  A  R  V  E  R  '  s      T  R  A  V  E  L  S.  £cz 

among  them.     The  General  paid  for  his    temei 
with  his  life,  and   was  accompanied  in  his    fall  by  a 
great  number  of  brave  fellows  ;  v/hilil   his    invisible 
.enemies  had   only    two   or  three    of  their  number 
wounded. 

When  the  Indians  fucceed  in  their  filent  ap- 
proaches, and  are  able  to  force  the  camp  which  they 
attack,  a  fcene  of  horror  that  exceeds  defcription, 
enfues.  The  favage  fiercenefs  of  the  conquerors, 
and  the  defperation  of  the  conquered,  who  well 
knew  what  they  have  to  expect  fhouki  they  fall 
alive  into  the  hands  of  their  affailants,  occafion  the 
meft  extraordinary  exertions  on  both  fidts.  The 
figure  of  the  combatants  all  befmeared  with  black 
and  red  paint,  and  covered  with  the  blood  of  the 
fiain,  their  horrid  yells,  and  ungovernable  fury  arc: 
not  to  be  conceived  by  thofe  who  have  never  croffed 
the  Atlantic. 

I  have  frequently  been  a  fpecxator  of  them,  and 
once  bore  a  part  in  a  fimilar  fcene.  But  what  ad- 
ded to  the  horror  of  it  was,  that  I  had  not  the  con- 
folation  of  being  able  to  oppofe  their  lavage  attacks. 
Every  circumftance  of  the  adventure  (till  dwells  on 
my  remembrance,  and  enables  me  to  cefcribe  with 
greater  perfpicuity  the  brutal  fiercenefs  of  the  In- 
dians when  they  have  furprifed  or  overpowered  an 
enemy. 

As  a  detail  of  the  maffacre  at  Fort  "William  Henry 
in  the  year  1757,  the  fcene  to  which  I  refer,  can- 
not appear  foreign  to  the  defign  of  this  publications, 
but  will  ferve  to  give  my  readers  a  juft  idea  of  the 
ferocity  of  this  people,  I  ihall  take  the  liberty  to  in- 
fert  it,  apologizing  at  the  fame  time  for  the  length  of 
the  digrefiion,  and  thole  egotifms  M&ich  the  relation 
;rs  unavoidable. 


£o4  C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVEL  S. 

General  Webb,  who  commanded  the  Englifli 
army  in  North-America,  which  was  then  encamped 
at  Fort  Edward,  having  intelligence  that  the  French 
troops  under  Monf.  Montcalm  were  making  fome 
movements  towards  Fort  William  Hen  y,  he  de- 
tached a  corps  of  about  fifteen  hundred  men,  con- 
futing of  Englifn  and  Provincials,  to  ftrtngthen  the 
garrilbn.  In  this  party  I  went  as  a  volunteer  among 
the  latter. 

The  apprehenfions  of  the  Englifh  General  were 
rict  without  foundation  ;  for  the  day  after  our  arrival 
we  faw  Lake  George  (formerly  Lake  Sacrament)  to 
which  it  lies  contiguous,  covered  with  an  immenfe 
number  of  boats  -,  and  in  a  few  hours  we  found  our 
lines  attacked  by  the  French  General,  who  had  juft 
landed  with  eleven  thoufand  Regulars  and  Cana- 
dians, and  two  thoufand  Indians.  Colonel  Monro, 
a  brave  officer,  commanded  in  the  Fort,  and  had  no, 
more  than  two  thoufand  three  hundred  men  with 
him,  our  detachment  included. 

With  thefe-he  made  a  gallant  defence,  and  pro- 
bably would  have  been  able  at  lad  to  preferve  the 
Fort,  had  he  been  properly  fupported,  and  permit- 
ted to  continue  his  efforts.  On  every  fummons  to 
iurrender  lent  by  the  French  General,  who  offered 
the  moft  honorable  terms,  his  anfwer  repeatedly;was, 
That  he  yet  found  himfelf  in  a  condition  to  repej 
the  molt  vigorous  attacks  his  befiegers  were  able  to 
make  ;  and  if  he  thought  his  prefent  force  infufri- 
cient,  he  could  foon  be  fupplied  with  a  greater  num- 
ber from  the  adjacent  army. 

But  the  Colonel  having  acquainted  General  Webb 
wkh  his  fituation,  and  dciired  he  would  fend  him 
fome  frtfh  troops,  the  General  difpatcheda  rneffen- 
ger  to  him  with  a  letter,  wherein  he    informed  h\n\ 


CARVER's    TRAVELS.  205 

that  it.  was  not  in  his  power  to  affift  him,  and  there- 
fore gave  him  orders  to  furrender  up  the  Fort  on 
the  beft  terms  he  couid  procure.  This  packet  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  French  General,  who  imme- 
diately fent  a  Mag  of  truce,  defiring  a  conference  with 
the  governor. 

They  accordingly  met,  attended  only  by  a  fmall 
guard,  in  the  centre  between  the  lines  ;  when  Monf. 
Montcalm  told  the  Colonel,  that  he  was  come  in 
perfon  to  demand  poffeffion  ofthe  Fort,  as  it  belqng- 
jed  to  the  King  his  mailer.  The  Colonel  replied, 
that  he  knew  not  how  that  could  be,  nor  mould  he 
furrender  it  up  whilft  it  was  in  his  power  to  de- 
fend it. 

The  French  General  rejoined,  at  the  fame  time 
delivering  the  packet  into  the  Colonel's  hand,  C(  By 
c:  this  authority  do  I  make  the  requifition."  The 
brave  Governor  had  no  fooner  read  the  contents  of 
it,  and  was  convinced  that  fuch  were  the  orders  of 
the  cammander  in  chief,  and  not  to  be  difobeyed, 
than  he  hung  his  head  in  filence,  and  relu&antly 
entered  into  a  negociation. 

In  confideration  ofthe  gallant  defence  the  garrifon 
had  made,  they  were  to  be  permitted  to  march  out 
with  all  the  honors  of  war,  to  be  allowed  covered 
waggons  to  tranfport  their  baggage  to  Fort  Edward, 
and  a  guard  to  protect  them  from  the  fury  of  the  fa- 


The  morning  after  the  capitulation  was  figned, 
as  foon  as  day  broke,  the  whole  garrifon,  now  con- 
fiding of  about  two  thoufand  men,  befides  women 
and  children,  were  drawn  up  within'  the  lines,  and 
on  the  point  of  marching  off,  when  great  numbers 
ofthe  Indians  gathered  about,  and  began  to  plunder. 


*©6  CARVER's     TRAVEL  S. 

We  were  at  fir  ft:  in  hopes  that  this  was  their  only 
view,  and  fuffered  them  to  proceed  without  oppo- 
sition. Indeed  it  was  not  in  our  power  to  make 
any,  had  we  been  fo  inclined;  for  though  we  were 
permitted  to  carry  off  our  arms,  yet  we  were  not 
allowed  a  Tingle  round  of  ammunition.  In  thefe  hopes 
however  we  were  difappointed  :  for  prefently  fome 
of  them  began  to  attack  the  fick  and  wounded,  when 
fuch  as  were  not  able  to  crawl  into  the  ranks,  not- 
withilanding  they  endeavoured  to  avert  the  fury  of 
their  enemies  by  their  fhrieks  or  groans,  were  foon 
difpatched. 

Here  we  were  folly  in  expectation  that  the  dif- 
turbance  would  have  concluded  ;  and  our  little  arm] 
began  to  move  ;  but  in  a  fhort  time  we  faw  the  front 
divifion  driven  back,  and  difscvered  that  we  were 
entirely  encircled  by  the  favages.  We  expected 
every  moment  that  the  guard,  which  the  French,  by 
the  articles  of  capitulation,  had  agreed  to  allow  us, 
would  have  arrived,  and  put  an  end  to  our  appre- 
henfions  ;  but  none  appeared.  The  Indians  now 
began  to  drip  every  one  without  exception  of  their 
arms  and  clothes,  and  thofe  who  made  the  leafl:  re- 
finance felt  the  weight  of  their  tomahawks. 

I  happened  to  be  in  the  rear  divifion,  but  it  wac 
not  long  before  I  fhared  the  fate  of  my  companions. 
Three  or  four  of  the  favages  laid  hold  of  me,  and 
whiiit  fome  held  their  weapons  over  my  head,  the 
others  foon  cifrobed  me  of  my  coat,  waiftcoat,  hat 
and  buckles,  omitting  not  to  take  from  me  what 
money  I  had  in  my  pocket.  As  this  was  tranfacled" 
clofe  by  the  pafTage  that  led  from  the  lines  on  to  the 
plain,  near  which  a  French  centinel  waspofted,  Iran 
to  him  and  claimed  his  protection  -,  but  he  only 
called  mean  Englifh  dog,  and  thruft  me  with  vio- 
lence back  again  into  the  midft  of  the  Indians. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  207 

I  now  endeavoured  to  join  a  body  of  our  troops  that 
were  crowded  together  at  fome  diftance;  but  innu- 
merable were  the  blows  that  were  made  at  me  with 
different  weapons  as  I  paffed  on;  luckily  however 
the  favages  were  fo  cloie  together,  that  they  could 
not  ftrike  at  me  without  endangering  each  other. 
Notwithstanding  which  one  of  them  found  means  to 
make  a  thruft  at  me  with  a  fpear,  which  grazed  my 
fide,  and  from  another  I  received  a  wound,  with  the 
fame  kind  of  weapon,  in  my  ankle.  At  length  I 
gained  the  fpot  where  my  countrymen  flood,  and 
forced  myfelfinto  the  midft  of  them.  But  before  I 
got  thus  far  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  the  col- 
lar and  wrifibands  of  my  fhirt  were  all  that  remained 
of  it,  and  my  flefh  was  fcratched  and  torn  in  many 
places  by  their  favage  gripes. 

By  this  time  the  war  whoop  was  given,  and  the 
Indians  began  to  murder  thofe  that  were  neareft  to 
them  without  diftinction.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of 
words  to  give  any  tolerable  idea  of  the  horrid  fcene 
that  now  enfued;  men,  women,  and  children  were 
difpatched  in  the  mod;  wanton  and  cruel  manner, 
and  immediately  fcalped.  Many  of  thefe  favages 
drank  the  blood  of  their  victims,  as  it  flowed  warm 
from  the  fatal  wound. 

We  now  perceived,  though  too  late  to  avail  us, 
that  we  were  to  expect  no  relief  from  the  French; 
and  that,  contrary  to  the  agreement  they  had  fo 
lately  figned  to  allow  us  a  fufricient  force  to  protect 
us  from  thefe  infults,  they  tacitly  permitted  them; 
for  I  could  plainly  perceive  the  French  officers  walk- 
ing about  at  fome  diftance,  difcourfing  together 
with  apparent  unconcern.  For  the  honor  of  human 
nature  I  would  hope  that  this  flagrant  breach  of  eve- 
ry facred  law,  proceeded  rather  from  the  favage  dii~ 
pofuion  of  the  Indians,  which  I  Acknowledge  ;.r.  tS 


20$  CARVER's    TRAVELS. 

fometimes  almoft  impoffibk  to  control,  and  which- 
might  now  unexpectedly  have  arrived  to  a  pitch  not 
eafily  to  be  reftrained,  than  to  any  premeditated  de- 
fign  in  the  French  commander.  An  unprejudiced 
obferver  would,  however,  be  apt  to  conclude,  that 
a  body  often  thoufand  chriftian  troops,  moft  enrif- 
tian  troops,  had  it  in  their  power  to  prevent  the 
maflacre  from  becoming  fo  general.  But  whatever 
was  the  caufe  from  which  it  arofe,  the  confequences 
of  it  were  dreadful,  and  not  to  be  paralleled  in  mo- 
dern hiftory. 

As  the  circle  in  which  I  itood  inclofed  by  this 
time  was  much  thinned,  and  death  feemed  to  be 
approaching  with  hafty  ftrides,  it  was  propofed  by 
feme  of  the  moft  refolute  to  make  one  vigorous  effort, 
and  enaeavour  to  force  our  way  through  the  favages, 
the  only  probable  method  of  preferving  our  lives 
that  now  remained.  This,  however  defperate,  was 
refolved  on,  and  about  twenty  of  us  fprung  at  once 
into  the  midft  of  them. 

In  a  moment  we  were  all  feparated,  and  what  was 
the  fate  of  my  companions  I  could  not  learn  till  fome 
months  after,  when  I  found  that  only  fix  or  feven  of 
them  effected  their  defign.  Intent  oniy  on  my  own 
hazardous  fituation,  I  endeavoured  to  make  my  way 
through  my  favage  enemies  in  the  bed  manner  pof- 
fible.  And  I  havs  often  been  aftonilried  fmce,  when' 
I  have  recollected  with  what  compoiure  I  took,  as 
I  did,  every  neceffary  ftep  for  my  prefervation. 
Some  I  overturned,  being  at  that  time  young  and 
athletic,  and  others  I  paffed  by,  dextroufly  avoiding 
their  weapons ;  till  at  lait  two  very  ftout  chiefs,  of 
the  mof-  favage  tribes,  as  I  could  diftinguifh  by  their 
drefs,  whofe  ftrength  I  could  not  refill,  laid  hold 
or  me  by  each  arm,  and  began  to  force  me  through- 
the  crowd. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  jog 

I  now  refigned  myfelf  to  my  fate,  not  doubting. 
but  that  they  intended  to  difpatch  me,  and  then  to 
fatiate  their  vengeance  with  my  blood,  as  I  found 
they  were  hurrying  me  towards  a  retired  fwamp  that 
lay  at  fome  diftance.  But  before  we  had  got  many 
yards,  an  Englifh  gentleman  of  fome  diftinclion,  as 
I  could  difcover  by  his  breeches,  the  only  covering 
he  had  on,  which  were  of  fine  fcarlet  velvet,  ruihed 
clofe  by  us.  One  of  the  Indians  inflantly  relinquished 
his  hold,  and  fpringing  on  this  new  object,  endea- 
voured to  feize  him  as  his  prey;  but  the  gentleman 
being  ftrong,  threw  him  on  the  ground,  and  would 
probably  have  got  away,  had  not  he  who  held  my 
other  arm,  quitted  me  to  affift  his  brother.  I  fcized 
the  opportunity,  and  haftened  away  to  join  another 
party  of  Englifh  troops  that  were  yet  unbroken, 
and  ftood  in  a  body  at  fome  diftance.  But  before  I 
had  taken  many  fteps,  I  haftily  caft  my  eye  towards 
the  gentleman,  and  law  the  Indian's  tomahawk  gam. 
into  his  back,  and  heard  him  utter  his  laft  groan; 
this  added  both  to  my  fpeed  and  defperation. 

I  had  left  this  ihocking  fcene  but  a  few  yards, 
■when  a  fine  boy  about  twelve  years  of  age,  that  had 
hitherto  efcaped,  came  up  to  me,  and  begged  that  I 
would  let  him  lay  hold  of  me,  fo  that  he  might 
Hand  fome  chance  of  getting  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
favages.  I  told  him  that  I  would  give  him  every 
afliftance  in  my  power,  and  to  this  purpofe  bid  him 
lay  hold;  but  in  a  few  moments  he  was  torn  from 
my  fide,  and  by  his  fhrieksljudge  was  foon  demo- 
lifneci.  I  could  not  help  forgetting  my  own  cares 
fona  minute,  to  lament  the  fate  of  fo  young  a  fuf- 
ferer;  but  it  wras  utterly  impcflible  for  me  to  take 
any  methods  to  prevent  it. 

I  now  got  once  more  into  the  midft  of  friends,  but 
we  were  unable  to  afford  each  other  any  fuccour. 

Dd 


sio  C  A  R  V  E  R's     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

As  this  was  the  diviiiop  that  had  advanced  the 
furtheft  from  the  fort,  I  thought  there  might  be  a 
poiTibiiky  (though  but  a  bare  one)  of  my  forcing  my 
way  through  the  outer  ranks  of  the  Indians,  and 
getting  to  a  neighbouring  wood,  which  I  perceived 
at  fome  diftance.  I  was  {till  encouraged  to  hope  by 
the  almoft  miraculous  prefervation  I  had  already 
experienced. 

Nor  were  my  hopes  in  vain,  or  the  efforts  I  made 
ineffectual.  Suffice  to  fay,  that  I  reached  the  wood; 
but  by  the  time  I  had  penetrated  a  little  way  into  it,, 
my  breath  was  fo  exhaufted  that  I  threw  myfelf  into 
a  break,  and  lay  for  fome  minutes  apparently  at  the 
lad  gafp.  At  length  I  recovered  the  power  of  refpi- 
ration  -,  but  my  apprehenfions  returned  with  all  their 
former  force,  when  I  favv  feveral  favages  pafs  by, 
probably  in  purfuit  of  me,  at  no  very  great  diftance. 
In  this  fituation  I  knew  not  whether  it  was  better 
to  proceed,  or  endeavour  to  conceal  myfelf  where  I 
fay,  till  night  came  on  ;  fearing,  however,  that  they 
would  return  the  fame  way,  I  thought  it  moll  pru- 
dent to  get  further  from  the  dreadful  fcene  of  my 
diftreffes.  Accordingly,  ftriking  into  another  part 
of  the  wood,  I  baftened  on  as  fail  as  the  briers  and 
the  lofs  of  one  of  my  fhoes  would  permit  me;  and 
after  a  flow  progrefs  of  fome  hours,  gained  a  hill 
that  overlooked  z\\t  plain  which  I  had  juft  left,  from 
whence  I  could  difcern  that  the  bloody  florm  ftill 
ra^ed  with  unabated  fury. 

But  not  to  tire  my  readers,  I  fhall  only  add,  that 
after  palling  three  days  without  fubfiftence,  and  en- 
during the  feverity  of  the  cold  dews  for  three  nights, 
I  at  length  reached  Fort  Edward  j  where  with  pro- 
per care  my  body  foon  recovered  its  wonted  ftrength, 
and  my  mind,  as  far  as  the  recollection  of  the  late 
melancholy  events  would  permit,  its  ufual  compofure. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  Hf 

It  was  computed  that  fifteen  hundred  pcrfons  were 
killed  or  made  priibners  by  theie  fay  ages  during 
this  fatal  day.  Many  of  the  latter  were  carried  off 
by  them  and  never  returned.  A  few,  through  fa- 
vorable accidents,  found  their  way  back  to  ; 
native  country,  after  having  experienced  a  long  an. I 
ievere  captivity. 

The  brave  Colonel  Monro  had  haflened  away, 
loon  after  the  confufion  begin,  to  the  French  camp 
to  endeavour  to  procure  the  guard  agreed  by  the  ill  - 
pulation;  but  his  application  proving  ineffectual,  he 
remained  there  till  General  Webb  lent  a  party  of 
troops  to  demand  and  protect  him  back  to  Fort 
Edward.  But  \thefe  unhappy  concurrences,  which 
would  probably  have  been  prevented,  had  he  bctn 
left  to  purfue  his  own  plans,  together  with  the  lofs 
of  fo  many  brave  fellows,  murdered  in  cold  bleed, 
to  whofe  valor  he  had  been  fo  lately  a  witnefs,  mad? 
fuch  an  impreflion  on  his  mind,  that  he  did  not  long 
furvive.  He  died  in  about  three  months  of  a  broken 
heart,  and  with  truth  might  it  be  faid,  that  he  was 
an  honor  to  his  country. 

I  mean  not  to  point  out  the  following  circum- 
fiance  as  the  immediate  judgment  of  heaven,  and 
intended  as  an  atonement  for  this  (laughter;  but  1 
vcannot  omit  that  very  few  of  thofe  different  tribes  of 
Indians  that  fhared  in  it  ever  lived  to  return  home. 
The  fm  all -pox,  by  means  of  their  communication 
with  the  Europeans,  found  its  way  among  them, 
and  made  an  equal  havoc  to  what  they  themfelves 
had  done.  The  methods  they  purfued  on  the  firft 
attack  of  that  malignant  diforder,  to  abate  the  fever 
attending  it,  rendered  it  fatal.  Whilft  their  blood 
was  in  a  Hate  of  fermentation,  and  nature  was  driv- 
ing to  throw  out  the  peccant  matter,  they  checked 
h-er  operations  by  plunging  into  the  water:  the  con- 


ziz  CARVER'S    TRAVELS, 

fequence  was  that  they  died  by  hundreds.  The 
few  thac  furvived  were  transformed  by  it  into  hideous 
objects,  and  bore  with  them  to  the  grave  deep-in- 
dcn.ed  marks  of  this  much- dreaded  difeafe. 

Monfieur  Montcalm  fell  foon  after  on  the  plains 
of  Quebec. 

That  the  unprovoked  cruelty' of  this  commander 
was  not  approved  of  by  the  g<  n:rality  of  his  coun- 
trymen, I  have  fince  been  convinced  of  by  many 
proofs.  One  only,  however,  which  I  received 
from  a  perfon  who  was  witnefs  to  it,  mail  I  at  pre- 
fent  give.  A  Canadian  merchant,  of  fome  confi- 
deration,  having  hear.,  of  the  furrender  of  the  Eng- 
liih  fort,  celebrated  tne  fortunate  event  with  great 
rejoicings  and  hoipitality,  according  to  the  cuftom 
of  that  country  -,  but  no  fooner  did  the  news  of  the 
mafTacre  which  enfued  reach  his  ears,  than  he  put 
an  immediate  ftop  to  the  feitivity,  and  exclaimed  in 
the  fevered  terms  againft  the  inhuman  permiffion  ; 
declaring  at  the  fame  time  that  thofe  who  had  con- 
nived at  it,  had  thereby  drawn  down,  on  that  part 
of  their  king's  dominions  the  vengeance  of  Heaven. 
To  this  he  added,  that  he  much  feared  the  total  lofs 
of  them  would  defervedly  be  the  confequence.  How 
truly,  this  prediction  has  been  verified  we  well 
know. 

But  to  return — Though  the  Indians  are  negligent  in 
guarding  agakrft  furprifes,  they  are  alert  and  dextrous 
in  furpriling  their  enemies.  To  their  caution  ancj 
perfeverance  in  dealing  on  the  party  they  defign  to 
attack,  they  add  that  admirable  talent,  or  rather 
inftinctiye  qualification.  I  have  already  defcribed, 
of  tracing  out  thofe  they  are  in  purfuit  of.  On  the 
fmootheft  grafs,  on  the  harden:  earth,  and  even  on 
the  very  ftones,  will  thev  difcover  the  traces  of  an 


CARVE  R's    TRAVELS.  2\Z 

.enemy,  and  by  the  fhape  of  the  foot  fteps,  and  the 
diftance  between  the  prints,  diftingui  fn  not  only 
whether  it  is  a  man  or  a  woman  who  has  paiTed  that 
way,  but  even  the  nation  to  which  they  belong. 
However  incredible  this  might  appear,  yet  from 
xht  many  proofs  I  received  whilft  among  them  of 
their  amazing  fagacity  in  this  point,  I  fee  no  reafon 
to  difcredit  even  thele  extraordinary  exertions  of 
it. 

When  they  have  overcome  an  enemy,  and  vic- 
tory is  no  longer  doubtful,  the  conquerors  firft  dif- 
patch  all  fuch  as  they  think  they  mall  not  be  able  to 
carry  oft  without  great  trouble,  and  then  endeavour 
to  take  as  many  prifoners  as  poflible  ■,  after  this  they 
return  to  fcalp  thofc  who  are  either  dead,  or  too 
much  wounded  to  be  taken  with  them. 

At  this  buf3nefs  they  are  exceedingly  expert.  They 
feize  the  head  of  the  difabled  or  dead  enemy,  and 
placing  one  of  their  feet  on  the  neck  twift  their  left 
hand  in  the  hair ;  by  this  means,  having  extended 
the  fkin,  thai  covers  the  Hop  of  their  head,  they 
draw  out  their  fcalping  knives,  which  are  always 
kept  in  good  order  for  this  cruel  purpofe,  and  with 
a  few  dextrous  ftrokes  take  off  the  part  that  is 
termed  the  fcalp.  They  are  fo  expeditious  in  do- 
ing this,  that  the  whole  time  required  fcarcely  ex- 
ceeds a  minute.  Thefe  they  preferve  as  monuments 
of  their  prowefs,  and  at  the  fame  time  as  proofs  of 
the  vengeance  they  have  inflicted  on  their  enemies. 

If  two  Indians  feize  in  the  fame  inftant  a  prifoner, 
andfeem  to  have  an  equal  claim,  the  conteft  between 
them  is  foon  decided;  for  to  put  a  fpeedy  end  to 
any  difpute  that  might  arife,  the  pefon  that  is  ap- 
prehenfive  he  mail  lofe  his  expected  reward,  im- 
mediately has  recourfe  to  his  tomahawk  or  war-club, 


2i4  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

and  knocks  on  the  head  the  unhappy  caufe  of  their 
contention. 

Having  completed  their  purpofes,  and  made  as 
much  havoc  as  poffible,  they  immediately  retire 
towards  thier  own  country,  with  the  fpoil  they  have 
acquired,  for  fear  of  being  purfued. 

Should  this  be  the  cafe,  they  make  ufe  of  many  ftra- 
tagems  to  elude  the  fearches  of  their  purfuers.  They 
lometimes  fcatter  leaves,  fands,  Or  duft  over  the 
prints  of  their  feet  ;fometimes  tread  in  each  other's 
footfleps  ;  and  fometimes  lift  their  feet  fo  high,  and 
tread  fo  lightly,  as  not  to  make  any  impreffion  on  the 
ground.  But  if  they  find  all  thefe  precautions  un- 
availing, and  that  they  are  near  being  overtaken, 
they  firitdifpatch  and  fcalp  their  prifoners,  and  then 
dividing,each  endeavours  to  regain  his  native  country 
by  a  different  route.  This  prevents  all  further  purfuit; 
for  their  purfuers  now  defpairing,  either  of  grati- 
fying their  revenge,  ar  of  releafing  thofe  of  their 
friends  who  were  made  captives,  return  home. 

If  the  fuccefsful  party  is  fo  lucky  as  to  make  good 
their  retreat  unmolefted,  they  haften  with  the  great- 
eft  expedition  to  reach  a  country  where  they  may  be 
perfectly  fccure  ;  and  that  their  wounded  companions 
may  not  retard  their  flight,  they  carry  them  by  turns 
in  litters,  or  if  it  is  in  the  winter  feafon  draw  them 
on  Hedges. 

Their  litters  are  made  in  a  rude  manner  of  the 
branches  of  trees.  Their  fledges  confift  of  two 
fmall  thin  boards,  about  a  foot  wide  when  joined,  and 
near  fix  feet  long.  The  fore -part  is  turned  up,  and 
the  fides  are  bordered  wiih  fmall  bands.  The  In- 
dians draw  thefe  carriages  with  great  eafe,  be  they 
ever  fo  much  loaded,  by  means  of  a  firing  which 
partes  round  the    bread.      This   collar  is   called   a 


C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVELS.  2l$ 

Metump,  and  is  inufe  throughout  America,  both  in 
the  fettlements  and  the  internal  parts.  Thofe  ufed 
in  the  latter  are  made  of  leather,  and  very  curioufly 
wrought. 

The  prifoners  during  their  march  are  guarded 
with  the  greateft  care.  During  the  day,  if  the  jour- 
ney is  over  land,  they  are  always  held  byfome  of  the 
victorious  party  ;  if  by  water,  they  are  fattened  to 
the  canoe.  In  the  night-time  they  are  ftretched 
along  the  ground  quite  naked,  with  their  legs,  arms, 
and  neck  fattened  to  hooks  fixed  in  the  ground.  Be- 
fidesthis,  cords  are  tied  to  their  arms  or  legs,  which 
are  held  by  an  Indian,  who  inftantly  awakes  at  the 
leaft  motion  of  them. 

Notwithstanding  fuch  precautions  are  ufuaily  taken 
by  the  Indians,  it  is  recorded  in  the  annals  of  New- 
England  that  one  of  the  weaker  fex,  almoft  alone,  and 
unaflifted  found  means  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  a 
party  of  warriors,  and  not  only  to  make  her  efcape 
from  them,  but  to  revenge  the  caufe  of  her  country- 
men. 

Some  years  ago  a  fmall  band  of  Canadian  Indians,con- 
fifting  of  ten  warriors  attended  by  two  of  their  wives, 
made  an  irruption  into  the  back  fettlements  of  New- 
England.  They  lurked  for  fome  time  in  the  vicinity 
of  one  the  mod  exterior  towns,  and  at  length,  after 
having  killed  and  fcalped  feveral  people,  found 
means  to  take  prifoner  a  woman  who  had  with  her 
a  fon  of  about  twelve  years  of  age.  Being  fatisfiedwith 
the  execution  they  had  done,  they  retreated  towards 
their  native  country,  which  lay  at  three  hundred 
miles  diflance,  and  carried  off  with  them  their  two 
captives. 


216  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

The  fccond  night  of  their  retreat,  the  woman; 
whofe  name,  if  I  miftake  not,  was  Rowe,  formed  a 
refolution  worthy  of  the  mod  intrepid  hero.  She 
thought  (he  fhould  be  able  to  get  from  her  hands 
the  manacles  by  which  they  were  confined,  and  de- 
termined if  me  did  fo  to  make  a  defperate  effort  for 
the  recovery  of  her  freedom.  To  this  purpofe,  when 
fhe  concluded  that  her  conquerors  were  in  their 
founded  deep,  fhe  ftrove  to  flip  the  cords  from- her 
hands.  In  this  (he  fucceeded  •>  and  cautioning  her  fon, 
whom  they  had  fuffered  to  go  unbound,  in  a  whifper, 
againfl  being  furprifed  at  what  fhe  was  about  to  do, 
fhe  removed  to  a  difiance  with  great  warinefs  the 
defendve  weapons  of  the  Indians,  which  lay  by  their 
fides. 

Having  done  this,  fhe  put  one  of  the  tomahawks 
into  the  hands  of  the  boy,  bidding  him  to  follow  her 
example  :  and  taking  another  herfelf,  fell  upon  the 
fteeping  Indians,  feveral  of  whom  fhe  inftantly  dif- 
patched.  But  her  attempt  was  nearly  fruftrated  by 
the  imbecility  of  her  fon,  who  wanting  both  flrength 
and  refolution,  made  a  feeble  ftroke  at  one  of  them, 
which  only  ferved  to  awaken  him  5  fhe  however 
fprungat  the  rifing  warrior,  and  before  he  could  re- 
cover his  arms,  made  him  fink  under  the  weight  of 
her  tomahawk  ;  and  this  fhe  alternately  did  to  all  the 
reft,  except  one  of  the  women  who  awoke  in  time., 
and  made  her  cfcape. 

The  heroine  then  took  off  the  fcalps  of  her  van- 
quifhed  enemies,  and  feizing  alfo  thofe  they  were 
carrying  away  with  them  as  proofs  of  their  fuccefs, 
fhe  returned  in  triumph  to  the  town  from  whence 
fhe  had  fo  lately  been  dragged,  to  the  great  aflonifh- 
ment  of  her  neighbours,  who  could  fcarcely  credit 
their  fenfes,  or  the  teftimonies  fhe  bore  of  her  Ama- 
zonian intrepidity. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  -,7 

During  their  march  they  oblige  their  prifoners  to 
fing  their  death-fong,  which  generally  confute  of 
theft  or  fimi&r  fentences:  cc  I  am  going  to  die,  I 
cc  am  about  to  fuffcr;  but  I  will  bear  the  fevereft 
cc  tortures  my  enemies  can  inflict,  with  becoming 
fc  fortitude.  I  v/ill  die  like  a  brave  man,  and  I  fhall 
tc  then  go  to  join  the  chiefs  that  have  iuffered  on  the 
"  fame  account."  Thefe  fongs  are  continued  with 
necefTary  intervals,  until  they  reach  the  village  or 
camp  to  which  they  are  going. 

When  the  warriors  are  arrived  within  hearing, 
they  fet  up  different  cries,  which  communicates  to 
their  friends  a  general  hiftory  of  the  fuccefs  of  the 
expedition.  The  number  of  the  death-cries  they 
give,  declare  how  many  of  their  own  party  are  loft; 
the  number  of  war-whoops,  the  number  of  prifoners 
they  have  taken. 

It  is  difficult  to  defcribe  thefe  cries,  but  the  beft 
ideal  can  convey  of  them  is,  that  the  former  con  fifts 
cf  the  found  Whoo,  Whoo,  Whoop,  which  is 
continued  in  a  long  (hrill  tone,  nearly  till  the  breath 
Js  exhaufted,  and  then  broken  off  with  a  fudden 
elevation  of  the  voice.  The  latter  is  a  loud  cry, 
of  much  the  fame  kind,  which  is  modulated  into 
notes  by  the  hand  being  placed  before  the  month. 
Both  of  them  might  be  heard  to  a  very  confidcrable 
diftance. 

Whilft  thefe  are  uttering,  the  perfons  to  whom 
they  are  defigned  to  convey  the  intelligence,  con- 
tinue motionlefs  and  all  attention.  When  this  ce- 
remony is  performed,  the  whole  village  iffue  out  to 
learn  the  particulars  of  the  relation  they  have  j'uft 
heard  in  general  terms,  and  according  as  the  news 

Ee 


si8  CARVER's    TRAVELS, 

prove  mournful  or  the  contrary,    they  anfwer  by  fo 
many  acclamations  or  cries  of  lamentation. 

Being  by  this  time  arrived  at  the  village  or  camp, 
the  women  and  children  arm  themfelvts  with  flicks 
and  blu  .Ige  ons;  and  form  themfelves  into  two  ranks, 
through  which  the  prifoners  are  obliged  to  pafs. 
The  treatment  they  undergo  before  they  reach  the 
extremity  cf  the  line,  is  very  fevere.  Sometimes 
they  are  fo  beaten  over  the  head  and  face,  as  to 
have  icarce-ly  any  remains  of  life;  and  happy  would 
it  be  for  them  if  by  this  ufage  an  end  was  put  to  their 
wretched  beings.  But  their  tormentors  take  care 
that  none  of  the  blows  they  give  prove  mortal,  as 
they  wiih  to  referve  the  miferable  fufferers  for  more 
fevere  inflictions. 

After  having  undergone  this  introductory  difci- 
pline,  they  are  bound  hand  and  foot,  whilft  the 
chiefs  hold  a  council  in  which  their  fate  is  determined. 
Thofe  who  are  decreed  to  be  put  to  death  by  the 
ufual  torments,  are  delivered  to  the  chief  of  the 
warriors;  fuch  as  are  to  be  fpared,  are  given  into 
the  hands  of  the  chief  of  the  nation  :  fo  that  in  a 
fhort  time  all  the  prifoners  may  be  alTured  of  their 
fate,  as  the  fentence  now  pronounced  is  irrevocable. 
The  former  they  term  being  configned  to  the  houfe 
cf  death,  the  latter  to  the  houfe  of  grace. 

Such  captives  as  are  pretty  far  advanced  in  life, 
and  have  acquired  great  honor  by  their  warlike 
deeds,  always  atone  for  the  b'ood  they  have  fpilt, 
by  the  tortures  of  fire.  Their  fuccefs  in  war  is  rea- 
dily known  by  the  blue  marks  upon  their  breafts  and 
arms,  which  are  as  legible  to  the  Indians  as  letters 
are  to  Europeans. 

The  manner  in  which  tbefe  hieroglyphics  are 
made,  is  by  breaking  the  (kin  with  the  teeth  of  fifh, 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  w- 

or  fharpened  flints,  dipped  in  a  kind  of  ink  made  of 
the  foot  of  pitch  pine.  Like  thofe  of  the  ancient. 
Picts  of  Britain  thefe  are  efteemed  ornamental;  and 
at  the  fame  time  they  ferve  as  regifters  of  the  heroic 
actions  of  the  warrior,  who  thus  bears  about  him 
indelible  marks  of  his  valor. 

The  prifoners  deftined  to  death  are  foon  led  to 
the  place  of  execution,  which  is  generally  in  the 
centre  of  the  camp  or  village ;  where,  being  ftript, 
a.id  ever/  part  of  their  bodies  blackened,  the  fkin 
of  a  crow  or  raven  is  fixed  on  their  heads.  They 
are  then  bound  to  a  flake,  with  faggots  heaped 
around  them,  and  obliged,  for  the  laft  time,  to  fing 
their  death-fono-. 

The  warriors,  for  fuch  it  is  only  who  commonly 
fuffer  this  punifhment,  now  perform  in  a  more  pro- 
lix manner  this  fad  folemnity.  They  recount  with 
an  audible  voice  all  the  brave  actions  they  have  per- 
formed, and  pride  themfelves  in  the  number  of  ene- 
mies they  have  killed.  In  this  rehearfal  they  fpare 
not  even  their  tormentors,  but  ftrive  by  every  pro- 
voking tale  they  can  invent,  to  irritate  and  infult 
them.  Sometimes  this  has  the  deflred  effect,  and 
the  fufferers  are  difpatched  fooner  than  they  other- 
wife  would  have  been. 

There  are  many  other  methods  which  the  Indians 
make  ufe  of  to  put  their  prifoners  to  death,  but  thefe 
are  only  occafional;  that  of  burning  is  mod  gene- 
rally u'fed, 

Whilit  I  was  at  the  chief  town  of  the  Ottagau- 
mies,  an  Illinois  Indian  was  brought  in,  who  had 
been  made  prifoner  by  one  of  their  war-parties.  I 
had  then  an  opportunity  of  feeing  the  cuftomary 
cruelties  inflicted  by  thefe  people  on  their  captives^ 


22o  CARVE  R's    TRAVEL  S. 

through  the  minuted  part  of  their  procefs.  After 
the  previous  fteps  necefjary  to  this  condemnation, 
he  was  carried,  early  in  the  morning,  to  a  little 
diftance  from  the  town,  where  he  was  bound  to  a 

tree. 

This  being  done,  all  the  boys,  who  amounted 
to  a  great  number,  as  the  place  was  populous,  were 
permitted  to  amufe  themfelves  with  mooting  their 
arrows  at  the  unhappy  victim.  As  there  wrerc:  none 
of  them  more  than  twelve  years  old,  and  were 
placed  at  a  considerable  diftance,  they  had  not 
firength  to  penetrate  to  the  vital  parts,  fo  that  the 
poor  wretch  flood  pierced  with  arrows,  and  differ- 
ing the  confequent  agonies,  for  more  than  two  days. 

During  this  time  he  fung  his  warlike  exploits. 
He  recapitulated  every  ftratagem  he  had  made  ufc 
of  to  furprife  his  enemies:  he  feoafted  of  the  quan- 
tity of  fcalps  he  poiTcifed,  and  enumerated  the  pri- 
foners  he  had  taken.  He  then  defcribed  the  different 
barbarous  methods  by  which  he  had  put  the  latter 
to  death,  and  feemed  even  then  to  receive  incon- 
ceivable pleafure  from  tke  recital  of  the  horrid 
tale. 

But  he  dwelt  more  particularly  on  the  cruelties  he 
had  praclifed  on  Cuch  of  the  kindred  of  his  prefent 
tormentors,  as  had  fallen  into  his  hands;  endeavour- 
ing by  thefe  aggravated  infults.  to  induce  them  to 
increafe  his  tortures,  that  he  might  be  able  to  give 
greater  proofs  of  fortitude.  Even  in  the  lad  drug- 
gies of  fife,  when  he  was  no  longer  able  to  vent  in 
words  the  indignant  provocation  his  tongue  would 
have  uttered,  a  fmile  of  mingled  (corn  and  triumph 
)>ti  hi:  countenance. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  2zi 

This  method  of  tormenting  their  enemies  is  con- 
fidered  by  the  Indians  as  productive  of  more  than 
one  beneficial  confequence.  It  fatiates,  in  a  greater 
degree,  that  diabolical  luft  of  revenge,  which  is 
the  predominant  paflion  in  the  bread  of  every  in- 
dividual of  every  tribe,  and  it  gives  the  growing 
warriors  an  early  propenfuy  to  that  cruelty  and 
thirft  for  blood,  which  is  fo  neceflary  a  qualification 
for  fuch  as  would  be  thorougiily  (killed  in  their  fa- 
vap;e  art  of  war. 

I  have  been  informed,  that  an  Indian  who  was 
under  the  hands  of  his  tormentors,  had  the  audacity 
to  tell  them,  that  they  were  ignorant  old  women, 
and  did  not  know  how  to  put  brave  prifoners  to 
death.  He  acquainted  them  that  he  had  heretofore 
taken  fome  of  their  warriors,  and  inftead  of  the  tri- 
vial punimments  they  inflicted  on  him,  he  had  de- 
vifed  for  them  the  moil  excruciating  torments;  that 
having  bound  them  to  a  Hake,  he  had  ftuck  their 
bodies  full  of  fharp  fplinters  of  turpentine  wood,  to 
which  he  then  let  fire,  and  dancing  around  them 
enjoyed  the  agonizing  pangs  of  the   flaming  victim. 

This  bravado,  which  carried  with  it  a  degree  of 
infult,  that  even  the  accuftomed  ear  of  an  Indian 
could  not  liflen  to  unmoved,  threw  his  tormentors 
off  their  guard,  and  fhortened  the  duration  of  his 
torments;  for  one  of  the  chiefs  ran  to  him,  and  rip- 
ping out  his  heart,  flopped  with  it  the  mouth  from 
which  had  iiiued  fuch  provoking  language. 

Innumerable  are  the  ftories  that  may  be  told  of 
the  courage  and  refclution  of  the  Indians,  who  hap- 
pen to  be  made  prifoners  by  their  adversaries,  Many 
that  I  have  heard  are  fo  aftonifhing,  that  they  feem 
to  exceed  the  utmoft  limits  of  credibility;  it  is, 
however,  certain  that  thefe  fa  v  age  5  are  polleflfed  with 


ziz  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

many  heroic  qualities,  and  bare  every  fpecies  of 
misfortune  with  a  degree  of  fortitude  which  haj  iot 
been  outdone  by  any  of  the  ancient  heroes  either  of 
Greece  or  of  Rome. 

Notwithstanding  thefe  ach  of  fe verity exercifed 
by  the  Indians  towards  thoie  of  their  own  fpecies, 
who  fall  into  their  hands,  lbme  tribes  of  them  have 
been  remarked  for  their  moderation  to  fuch  female 
prifoncrs,  belonging  to  the  Englii'h  color ies  as  have 
happened  to  be  taken  by  them.  Women  of  great 
beauty  have  frequently  been  carried  off  by  them,  and 
during  a  march  of  three  or  four  hundred  miles,  thro* 
their  retired  forefts,  have  lain  by  their  fides  without 
receiving  any  infult,  and  their  chafttty  has  remained 
inviolate.  Inftances  have  happened  where  female 
captives,  who  have  been  pregnant  at  the  time  of 
their  being  taken,  have  found  the  pangs  of  child- 
birth come  upon  them  in  the  midft  of  folitary  woods, 
and  favages  their  only  companions ;  yet  from  thefe, 
favages  as  they  were,  have  they  received  every  af- 
fiftance  their  iituation  would  admit  of,  and  been 
treated  with  a  degree  of  delicacy  and  humanity  they 
little  expected. 

This  forbearance,  it  mufl  be  acknowledged,  does 
not  proceed  altogether  from  their  difpofition,  but  is 
only  inherent  in  thofe  who  have  held  fome  commu- 
nication with  the  French  miflionaiies.  Without  in- 
tending that  their  natural  enemies,  the  Englifh,  fhould 
enjoy  the  benefit  of  their  labours,  thefe  fathers  have 
taken  great  pains  to  inculcate  on  the  minds  of  the 
Indians  the  general  principles  of  humanity,  which 
has  diffufed  itfelf  through  their  manners,  and  has 
proved  of  public  utility. 

Thofe  prifoners  that  are  configned  to  the  houfe  of 
grace,  and  thz^c  are  commonly  the  young  men,  wo- 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  225 

men,  and  children,  await  the  difpofal  of  the  chiefs, 
who,  after  the  execution  o(  fuch  as  are  condemned 
to  die,  hold  a  council  for  this  purpofc. 

A  herald  is  fent  round  the  village  or  camp,  to  give 
notice  that  fuch  as.  have  loft  any  relations  in  the  late 
expedition,  are  defired  to  attend  the  diilribution 
which  is  about  to  take  place.  Thofe  women  who 
have  loft  their  fbns  or  hufbands,  are  generally  fatis- 
tied  in  the  firft  place  -y  after  thefe,  fuch  as  have  been 
deprived  of  friends  of  a  more  remote  degree  of  con- 
fa  nguinity,  or  who  choofe  to  adopt  ibme  of  the 
youth. 

The  divifion  being  made,  which  is  done,  as  in 
other  cafes,  without  the  leaft  difpute,  thofe  who  have 
received  any  fhare,  lead  them  to  their  tents  or  huts ; 
and  having  unbo'  nd  t!iem,  wafh  and  drefs  their 
woun.ris  if  they  happen  to  have  received  'any  -,  they 
then  clothe  them,  and  give  them  the  mod  comfor- 
table and  rcfrefhing  food  their  ftore  will  afford. 

Whilft  their  new  demeftics  are  feeding,  they  en- 
deavour to  adminifter  confolation  to  them  ;  they  tell 
them  that  as  they  are  redeemed  from  death,  they 
muft  now  be  cheerful  and  happy ;  and  if  they  ferve 
them  well,  without  murmuring  or  repining,  nothing 
fhall  be  wanting  to  make  them  fuch  atonement  for 
the  lofs  of  their  country  and  friends  as  circumftances 
will  allow  of. 

If  any  men  are  fpared,  they  are  commonly  given 
to  the  widows  that  have  loft  their  hufbands  by  the 
hand  of  the  enemy,  fhould  there  be  any  fuch,  to 
whom,  if  they  happen  to  prove  agreeable,  they  are 
focn  married.  But  fhould  the  dame  be  otherwife 
engaged,  the  life  of  him  who  falis  to  her  lot  is  in 
great  danger;  especially  if  ihe  fancies  that  her  late 


224  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

hufband  wants  a  Have  in  the  country  of  fpirits,  t0_ 
which  he  is  gone. 

"When  this  is  the  cafe,  a  number  of  young  men 
take  the  devoted  captive  to  fome  diftance,  and  dif- 
parch  him  without  any  ceremony:  after  he  has  been 
ipared  by  the  council,  they  coniider  him  of  too  little 
ccnfequence  to  be  entitled  to  the  torments  allotted 
to  thole  who  have  been  judged  worthy  of  them. 

The  women  are  ufually  diftributed  to  the  men, 
from  whom  they  do  not  fail  of  meeting  with  a  fa- 
vourable reception.  The  boys  and  girls  are  taken 
into  the  families  of  fuch  as  have  need  of  them,  and 
are  confidered  as  flaves ;  and  it  is  not  uncommon 
that  they  are  fold  in  the  fame  capacity  to  the  Euro- 
pean traders  who  come  among  them. 

The  Indians  have  no  idea  of  moderating  the  rava- 
ges of  war,  by  fparing  their  prifoners,  and  entering 
into  a  negociation  with  the  band  from  whom  they 
have  been  taken,  for  an  exchange.  All  that  are 
captivated  by  both  parties,  are  either  put  to  death, 
adopted,  or  made  (laves  of.  And  fo  particular  are 
every  nation  in  this  refpect,  that  if  any  of  their  tribe, 
even  a  warrior,  fhould  be  taken  prifoner,  and  by 
chance  be  received  into  the  houfe  of  grace,  either  a$ 
an  adopted  perfon  or  a  flave,  and  lhculd  afterwards 
make  his  efcape,  they  will  by  no  means  receive  him, 
or  acknowledge  him  as  one  of  their  band. 

The  condition  of  fuch  as  are  adopted  differs  not 
in  any  one  inftance  from  the  children  of  the  nation 
to  which  they  now  belong.  They  affume  all  the 
rights  of  thofe  whofe  places  they  fupply,  and  fre- 
quently make  no  difficulty  of  going  in  the  war-par- 
ties againft  their  own  countrymen.  Should,  how- 
ever, any  of  thefe  by   chance   make    their  efcape, 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  zz$ 

and  be  afterwards  retaken,  they  are  efteemed  as 
unnacural  children  and  ungrateful  perfons,  who  liave 
deferted  and  made  war  upon  their  parents  and  bene- 
factors, and  are  treated  with  uncommon   feverity. 

That  part  of  the  prifoners  which  are  confidered  as 
flaves,  are  generally  diftributed  among  the  chiefs  ; 
who  frequently  make  prefents  of  fome  of  them  to 
the  European  governors  of  the  out-pofts,  or  to  the 
fuperintendants  or  commiilaries  of  Indian  affairs.  I 
havebeen  informed  that  it  was  the  Jefuits  and  French 
miflionaries  that  firft  occafioned  the  introduction  of 
thefe  unhappy  captives  into  the  fettlements,  and  who 
by  fo  doing  taught  the  Indians  that  thty  were  va- 
luable. 

Their  views  indeed  were  laudable,  as  they  ima- 
gined that  by  this  method  they  mould  not  only  pre- 
vent much  barbarity  and  bloodfhed,  but  find  the 
opportunities  of  ip  reading  their  religion  among  them 
increafed.  To  this  purpofe  they  encouraged  the 
traders  to  purchafe  fuch  fiaves  as  they  met  with. 

The  good  effects  of  this  mode  of  proceeding  were 
not  however  equal  to  the  expectations  of  thefe  pious 
fathers.  Inftead  of  being  the  means  of  preventing 
cruelty  and  bloodfhed,  it  only  caufed  the  dirTentions 
between  the  Indian  nations  to  be  carried  on  with  a 
Greater  degree  of  violence,  and  with  unremitted  ar~ 
dor.  The  prize  they  fought  for  being  nolonger  revenge 
or  fame,  but  the  acquirement  of  fpirituous  liquors,for 
which  their  captives  were  to  be  exchanged,  and  of 
which  almoft  every  nation  is  immoderately  fond, 
they  fought  for  their  enemies  with  unwonted  alacrity, 
and  were  conftantly  on  the  watch  to  furprife  and 
carry  them  off. 


Z26  CARVER's       TRAVELS. 

It  might  ftill  be  laid  that  fewer  of  the  captives  aFe 
tormented  and  put  to  death,  fince  thefe  expectations 
of  receiving  fo  valuable  a  confideration  for  them 
have  been  excited  than  there  ufually  had  been  ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  there  accumftomed  cruelty 
to  the  warriors  they  take,  is  in  the  leaftabated  ;  their 
natural  defire  of  vengeance  muft  be  gratified  >  they 
now  onlv  become  more  affiduous  in  fecuring  a 
greater  number  of  young  prifoners,  whilft  thofe  who 
are  made  captive  in  their  defence,  are  tormented 
and  put  to  death  as  before. 

The  mifiionaries  finding,  that  contrary  to  their 
wifhes,  their  zeal  had  only  ferved  to  increafe  the  fale 
of  the  noxious  juices,  applied  to  the  governor  of  Ca- 
nada, in  the  year  1693,  for  a  prohibition  of  this 
baneful  trade.  An  order  was  iiTued  accordingly, 
but  it  could  not  put  a  total  flop  to  it  -,  the  French 
Couriers  de  Bo'is  were  hardy  enough  to  carry  it  on 
clandeftinely  notwithftanding  the  penalty  annexed 
to  a  breach  of  the  prohibition  was  a  confiderable  fine 
and  imprifcnment. 

Some*  who  were  detected  in  the  profecution  of 
it,  withdrew  into  the  Indian  countries,  where  they 
intermarried  with  the  natives,  and  underwent  a  vo- 
luntary banifhment.  Thefe  however,  being  an  aban- 
doned and  debauched  fet,  their  conduct  contributed 
very  little  either  towards  reforming  the  manners  of 
their  new  relations,  or  engaging  them  to  entertain  a 
favourable  opinion  of  the  religion  they  profefTed. 
Thus  did  thefe  indefatigable,  religious  men,  fee 
their  defigns  in  feme  meafure  once  more  frustrated. 

However,  the  emigration  was  productive  of  an 
effect  which  turned  out  to  be  beneficial  to  their  na- 
tion. By  the  connection  of  thefe  refugees  with  the 
Iroquois,  Miflifluages,  Hurons,   Miamies,    Powto- 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  227 

wottomies,  Puants,  Menomonies,  Algonkins,  &:c, 
and  the  conftant  reprefentations  thefe  various  na- 
tions received  from  them  of  the  power  and  grandeur 
of  the  French,  to  the  aggrandifement  of  whofc 
monarah,  notwithstanding  their  banifhment,  they 
ftill  retained  their  habitual  inclination,  the  Indians 
became  infenfibly  prejudiced  in  favor  of  that  peo- 
ple, and  I  am  perfuaded  will  take  every  opportunity 
of  fhewing  their  attachment  to  them. 

And  this  even  in  defpite  of  the  difgraceful  efti- 
mation  they  muft  be  held  by  them,  fince  they  have 
been  driven  out  of  Canada  -,  for  the  Indians  confider 
every  conquered  people  as  in  a  ftate  of  vafTalage  to 
their  conquerors .  After  one  nation  has  finally  fub- 
dued  another,  and  a  conditional  fubmifllon  is  agreed 
on,  it  is  cuflomary  for  the  chiefs  of  the  conquered, 
when  they  fit  in  council  with  their  fubduers,  to 
wear  petticoats,  as  an  acknowledgment  that  they  are 
in  a  ftate  of  fubjedtion,  and  ought  to  be  ranked 
among  the  women.  Their  partiality  to  the  French 
has  however  taken  too  deep  root  for  time  itfelf  to 
eradicate  it. 


22g      CARVE  R»s   TRAVEL  S. 


CHAPTER   X. 


Of  iheir  Manner  vf  making  Peace,  &c. 


J[_  HE  wars  that  are  carried  on  between  the 
Indian  nations  are  in  general  hereditary,  and  con- 
tinue from  age  to  age  with  a  few  interruptions.  If 
a  peace  becomes  necefTary,  the  principal  care  of  both 
parties  is  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  making  thefirft 
advances. 

When  they  treat  with  an  enemy,  relative  to  a 
fufpenfion  of  hoftilities,  the  chiefwho  is  commifflon- 
ed  to  undertake  the  negeciation,  if  itis  not  brought 
about  by  the  mediation  of  fome  neighbouring  band, 
abates,  nothing  of  his  natural  haughtinefs  :  even 
when  the  affairs  of  his  country  are  in  the  worft  fitu- 
ation,  he  makes  no  conceffions,  but  endeavours  to 
perfuade  his  adverfaries  that  it  is  their  intereft  to  put 
an  end  to  the  war. 

Accidents  fometimes  contribute  to  bring  about  a 
peace  between  nations  that  ctherwife  could  not  be 
prevailed  on  to  liften  to  terms  of  accommodation. 
An  inflance  of  this,  which  I  heard  of  in  almaft  every 
nation  I  palled  through,  I  (hail  relate, 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  229 

About  eighty  years  ago,thcIroquoisandChipcways, 
two  powerful  nations,  were  at  war  with  the  Otta- 
gaumies  and  Saukies,  who  were  much  inferior  to 
their  adverfaries  both  in  numbers  and  ftreogth.  One 
winter  near  athoufand  of  the  former  made  an  exciir- 
fion  from  Lake  Ontario,  by  way  of  Toronto,  to- 
wards the  territories  of  their  enemies.  They  coafr- 
ed  Lake  Huron  on  its  eaft  and  northern  borders,  till 
they  arrived  at  the  ifland  of  St.  Jofeph,  which  is  iitu- 
ated  in  the  Straits  of  St.  Marie.  There  they  croffed 
thefe  Straits  upon  the  ice,  about  fifteen  miles  below 
the  falls,  and  continued  their  route  ftill  weftward. 
As  the  ground  was  covered  with  fnow,  to  prevent  a 
difcoveryof  their  numbers,  they  marched  in  a  fingie 
file,  treading  in  each  others  foofteps. 

Four  Chipeway  Indians,  palling  that  way,  obferv- 
ed  this  army,  and  readily  guefTed  from  the  direction 
of  their  march,  and  the  precautions  they  took,  both 
the  country  to  which  they  were  hastening,  and  their 
defigns. 

Notwithftanding  the  nation  to  which  they  belong- 
ed was  at  war  with  the  Ottagaumies,  and  in  alliance 
with  their  invaders,  yet  from  a  principle  which  can- 
not be  accounted  for,  they  took  an  in  riant  refolu- 
tion  to  apprife  the  former  of  the  danger.  To  this 
purpofe  they  haftened  away  with  their  ufual  celerity, 
and,  taking  a  circuit  to  avoid  difcovery,  arrived  at 
the  hunting  grounds  Gf  the  Ottagaumies,  before  fo 
large  a  body,  moving  in  fo  cautious  a  manner,  could 
do.  There  they  found  a  party  of  about  four  hun- 
dred warriors,  fome  of  which  were  Saukies,  whom 
they  informed  of  the  approach  of  their  enemies. 

The  chiefs  immediately  collected  their  whole 
force,  and  held  a  council  on  the  fleps  that  were  to  be 
taken  for  their  defence.     As  they  were  encumbered 


230  -CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 

with  their  families,  it  was  impoflible  that  they  could 
retreat  in  time  -y  they  therefore  determined  tochoofe 
the  mod  advantageous  fpot,  and  to  give  the  Iroquois 
the  bell  reception  in  their  power. 

Not  far  from  the  place  where  they  then  happened 
to  be,  flood  two  fmall  lakes,  between  which  ran 
a  narrow  neck  of  land  about  a  mile  in  length,  and 
only  from  twenty  to  forty  yards  in  breadth.  Con- 
cluding that  the  Iroquois  intended  to  pafs  through 
this  defile,  the  united  bands  divided  their  little  party 
into  two  bodies  of  two  hundred  each.  Oneofthefe 
took  poll  at  the  extremity  of  the  pafs  that  lay  neared 
to  their  hunting  grounds,  which  they  immediately 
fortified  with  a  brcaft-work  formed  of  palifades  ; 
whilfl  the  other  body  took  a  cotnpafs  round  one  of 
the  lakes,  with  a  defign  to  hem  their  enemies  in 
when  they  had  entered  the  defile. 

Their  flratagem  fucceeded ;  for  no  fooner  had  the 
whole  of  the  Iroquois  entered  the  pafs,  than,  being 
provided  with  wood  for  the  purpofe,  they  formed  a 
fimilar  breaft-work  on  the  other  extremity,  and  thus 
enclofed  their  enemies. 

The  Iroquois  foon  perceived  their  fituation,  and 
immediately  held  a  council  on  the  meafures  that  were 
necefTary  to  be  purfued  to  extricate  themfelves. 
Unluckily  for  them  a  thaw  had  juft  taken  place, 
which  had  fo  far  diffblved  the  ice  as  to  render  it  im- 
paMable,  and  yet  there  ftill  remained  fufficient  to  pre- 
vent them  from  either  pafiing  over  the  lakes  on  rafts, 
or  from  fwimming  acrofs.  In  this  dilemma  it  was 
agreed  that  they  mould  endeavour  to  force  one  of 
the  breafl- works  i  but  they  foon  found  them  too  well 
defended  to  affecl  their  purpofe. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  231 

Notwithstanding  this  difappointment,  with  the 
ufual  compofure  and  unapprehenfivenefs  of  Indians, 
they  amufed  themfelves  three  or  four  days  in 
fifhing.  By  this  time  the  ice  being  quite  dif- 
folved,  they  made  themfelves  rafts,  which  they 
were  enabled  to  do  by  fome  trees  that  fortunately 
grew  on  the  fpot,  and  attempted  to  crofs  one  of  the 
lakes. 

They  accordingly  fet  ofTbefore  day-break  but  the 
Ottagaumies,  who  had  been  watchful  of  their  mo- 
tions, perceiving  their  defign,  detached  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men  from  each  of  their  parties,  to  op- 
pofe  their  landing.  Thefe  three  hundred  marched 
fo  expeditioufly  to  the  other  fide  of  the  lake, 
that  they  reached  it  before  their  opponents  had 
gained  the  fhore,  they  being  retarded  by  their  poles 
flicking  in  the  mud. 

As  feon  as  the  confederates  arrived,  they  poured 
in  a  very  heavy  fire,  both  from  their  bows  and 
mufquetry,  on  the  Iroquois,  which  greatly  difcon- 
certed  them ;  till  the  latter  rinding  their  fituation 
defperate,  leaped  into  the  water,  and  fought  their 
way  through  their  enemies.  This  however  they 
could  not  do  without  lofing  more  than  half  their 
men. 

After  the  Iroquois  had  landed,  they  made  good 
their  retreat,  but  were  obliged  to  leave  their  ene- 
mies mafters  of  the  field,  and  in  pofTefiion  of  all  the 
furs  they  had  taken  during  their  winter's  hunt. 
Thus  dearly  did  they  pay  for  an  unprovoked  cx- 
curfion  to  fuch  a  diftance  from  tat  route  they  ought 
to  have  purfued,  and  to  which  they  were  cniy  im- 
pelled by  a  fudden  defire  of  cutting  off  fome  of  their 
ancient  enemies. 


232  Carve  R's    travels. 

But  had  they  known  their  ftrength,  they  mighc 
have  deftroyed  every  man  of  the  party  that  oppofed 
them  ;  which  even  at  the  firit  cnfet  was  only  incon- 
ficierable,  and,  when  diminifhed  by  the  action,  to- 
tally, unable  to  make  any  (land  againfl  them. 

The  victorious  bands  rewarded  the  Chiffcways, 
who  had  been  the  means  of  their  fuccefs,  with  a 
fhare  of  the  fpoils.  They  prefTed  them  to  take  any 
Quantity  they  choie  of  the  richeft  of  the  furs,  and 
fent  them  under  an  efcort  of  fifty  men,  to  their  own 
country.  The  difintereiled  Chipeways,  as  the  In- 
dians in  general  are  ieldom  actuated  by  mercenary 
motives,  for  a  confide r able  time  refufed  thefe  pre- 
fents,  but  were  at  length  perfuaded  to  except  of 
them. 

The  brave  and  well  concerted  refinance  here 
made  by  the  Ottagaumies  and  Saukies,  aided  by  the 
mediation  of  the  Chipeways,  who  laying  afidc  on 
this  occafion  the  animofity  they  had  fo  long  borne 
thofe  people,  approved  of  the  generous  conduce  of 
their  four  chiefs,  were  together  the  means  of  effect- 
ing a  reconciliation  between  thefe  nations 3  and  in 
procefs  of  time  united  them  all  in  the  bands  of  amity. 

And  I  believe  that  all  the  Indians  inhabiting  that 
extenfive  country  which  lies  between  Quebec,  the 
banks  of  the  Miififllppi  north  of  the  Ouifconfm,  and 
the  fettiements  belonging  to  the  Hudfon's  Bay  com- 
pany, are  at  prefent  in  a  ftate  of  profound  peace. 
When  their  reftlefs  difpofitions  will  not  fuller  them 
to  remain  inactive,  thefe  northern  Indians  feldom 
commit  hoitilities  on  each  other,  but  make  excurfi-l 
ons  to  the  fouchward,  againfl  the  Cherokees,  Choc- 
tans,  Chickfaws,  or  Illinois, 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  233 

Sometimes  the  Indians  grow  tired  of  a  war  which 
they  have  carried  on  againit  f  >me  neighbouring  na- 
tion for  many  years  with  much  iuccefs,  and  in  this 
cafe  theyfeek  for  mediators  to  begin  a  negociation. 
Thefe  being  obtained,  the  treaty  is  thus  conducted : 

A  number  of  their  own  chiefs,  joined  by  thofe 
who  have  accepted  the  friendly  office,  fet  out  toge- 
ther for  the  country  of  their  enemies;  fuch  as  are 
chofen  for  this  purpofe,  are  chiefs  of  the  moil  ex- 
tenfive  abilities,  and  of  the  greateft  integrity.  They 
bear  before  them  the  Pipe  of  Peace,  which  I  need 
not  inform  my  readers  is  of  the  fame  nature  as  a  Flag 
of  Truce  among  the  Europeans,  and  is  treated  with 
the  greateft  refpecl  and  veneration,  even  by  the  molt 
barbarous  nations.  I  never  heard  of  an  inftance 
wherein  the  bearers  of  this  facred  badge  of  friendmip 
were  ever  treated  difrefpeclfully,  or  its  rights  violat- 
ed. The  Indians  believe  that  the  Great  Spirit  ne- 
ver fuffers  an  infraction  of  this  kind  to  go  unpu- 
nifned. 

The  Pipe  of  Peace  which  is  termed  by  the  French 
the  Calumet,  for  what  reafon  I  could  never  learn, 
is  about  four  feet  long.  The  bowl  of  it  is  made  of 
red  marble,  and  the  ftem  of  it  of  a  light  wood, 
curioufly  painted  with  hieroglyphics  in  various  co- 
lours, and  adorned  with  feathers,  of  the  moft  beau- 
tiful birds i  but  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  convey  an 
idea  of  the  various  tints  and  pleating  ornaments  of 
this  much  efteemed  Indian  implement. 

Every  nation  has  a  different  method  of  decorating 
thefe  pipes,  and  they  can  tell  at  firft  fight  to  what 
band  it  belongs.  Is  is  uied  as  an  introduction  to  all 
treaties,  and  great  ceremony  attends  the  ufc  of  icon 
thefe  otcaiions. 


234  CARVER's    TRAVELS. 

The  afiiftant  or  aid-du-camp  of  the  great  warrior. 
when  the  chiefs  are  aiTembled  and  feated,  fills  it 
with  tobacco  mixed  with  the  herbs  before  mentioned, 
taking  care  at  the  fame  time  that  no  part  of  it  touches 
the  ground.  When  it  is  filled,  he  takes  a  ccal 
that  is  thoroughly  kindled,  from  a  fire  which  is  ge- 
nerally kept  burning  in  the  midft  of  the  aflembly, 
and  places  it  on  the  tobacco. 

As  foon  as  it  is  fufficiently  lighted,  he  throws  oft 
the  coal.  He  then  turns  the  item  of  it  towards  the 
heavens,  after  this  towards  the  earth,  and  now  hold- 
ing it  horizontally,  moves  himfelf  round  till  he  has 
completed  a  circle;  by  the  firft  action  he  is  fuppofed 
to  prefent  it  to  the  Great  Spirit,  whofe  aid  is  thereby 
fupplicated;  by  the  fecond,  to  avert  any  malicious 
interpofition  of  the  evil  fpirits;  and  by  the  third  to 
gain  the  protection  of  the  fpirits  inhabiting  the  air, 
the  earth,  and  the  waters.  Having  thus  fecured 
the  favor  of  thofe  inviubie  agents,  in  whofe  power 
they  fuppofe  it  is  either  to  forward  or  obftruct  the 
iiTue  of  their  prefent  deliberations,  he  prefents  it  to 
the  hereditary  chief,  who  having  taken  two  or  three 
whiffs,  blows  the  fmoke  from  his  mouth  firft  towards 
heaven,  and  then  around  him  upon  the  ground. 

It  is  afterwards  put  in  the  fame  manner  into  the 
mouths  of  the  ambalTadors  or  ftrangers,  who  obferve 
the  fame  ceremony,  then  to  the  chief  of  the  warri- 
ors, and  to  all  the  other  chiefs  in  turn,  according  to 
their  gradation.  During  this  time  the  perfon  who 
executes  this  honorable  office  holds  the  pipe  (lightly 
in  his  hand,  as  if  he  feared  to  prefs  the  facred  in- 
ftrurnentj  nor  does  any  one  preiume  to  touch  it  but 
with  his  lips. 

When  the  chiefs  who  are  intrufted  with  the  com- 
miflion  for  making  peace,  rpproached  the  town  or 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  235 

camp  to  which  they  are  going,  they  begin  to  fing 
and  dance  the  fongs  and  dances  appropriated  co  this 
occafion.  By  this  time  the  adverfe  party  are  apprifed 
of  tneir  arrival,  and,  at  the  Tight  of  the  Pip 2  of 
Peace,  diverting  themfelves  of  their  wonted  en  nity 
invite  them  to  the  habitation  of  the  Great  Chief, 
and  furnifh  them  with  every  conveniency  during  the 
negociation. 

A  council  is  then  held;  and  when  the  fpeeches 
and  debates  are  ended,  if  no  obftructions  arife  to 
put  a  flop  to  the  treaty,  the  painted  hatchet  is  buried 
in  the  ground,  as  a  memorial  that  all  animofities 
between  the  contending  nations  have  ceafed,  and  a 
peace  taken  place.  Among  the  ruder  bands,  fuch 
as  have  no  communication  with  the  Europeans,  a 
war- club,  painted  red,  is  buried,  iniiead  of  the 
hatchet. 

A  belt  of  wampum  is  alio  given  on  this  occaMon^ 
which  ferves  as  a  ratification  of  the  peace,  and  re- 
cords to  the  late  ft  pofterity,  by  the  hieroglyphics 
into  which  the  beads  are  formed,  every  ftipulated 
article  in  the  treaty. 

Thefe  belts  are  made  of  {hells  found  on  the  coafts 
©f  New-England  and  Virginia,  which  are  fawed  out 
inta  beads  of  an  oblong  form,  about  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  long,  and  round  like  other  beads.  Being  ftrung 
on  leather  firings,  and  feveral  of  them  fewed  neatly 
together  with  fine  finewy  threads,  they  then  compoie 
what  is  termed  a  belt  of  Wampum. 

The  fhells  arc  generally  of  two  colours,  fome 
white  and  others  violet;  but  the  latter  are  more 
highly  efteemed  than  the  former.  They  are  held 
in  as  much  eftimation  by  the  Indians,  as  gold,  filver^ 
or  precious  ft  ones,  are  by  the  Europeans* 


c35  CARVER'S     TRAVELS, 

The  belts  are  compofed  of  ten,  twelve,  or  a 
greater  number  of  firings,  according  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  affair  in  agitation,  or  the  dignity  of  the 
perfon  to  whom  it  is  prefemcd.  On  more  trifling 
occafions,  firings  of  thefe  beads  are  prefented  by  the 
chiefs  to  each  other,  and  irequ  ntly  worn  by  them 
about  their  necks,  as  a  valuable  ornament. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


237 


CHAPTER     XI. 


Of  their  Games. 


J\  S  I  have  before  cbferved,  the  Indians  are 
greatly  addicted  to  gaming,  and  will  even  flake, 
and  lofe  with  compofure,  all  the  valuables  they  are 
pofTefTed  of.  They  amufe  themfelves  at  feveral 
forts  of  games,  but  the  principal  and  mod  efteemed 
among  them  is  that  of  the  bail,  which  is  not  unlike 
the  European  game  of  tennis. 

The  balls  they  ufe  are  rather  larger  than  thofe 
made  ufe  of  at  tennis,  and  are  formed  of  a  piece  of 
deer-fkin  ;  which  being  moiftened  to  render  it  fup- 
ple,  is  ftufFed  hard  with  the  hair  of  the  fame  crea- 
ture, and  fewed  with  its  finews.  The  ball-fticks 
are  about  three  feet  long,  at  the  end  of  which  there 
is  fixed  a  kind  of  racket,  refembling  the  palm  of  the 
hand,  and  fafhioned  of  thongs  cut  from  a  deer-fkin, 
In  theft  they  catch  the  ball,  and  throw  it  to  a  great 
diflance,  if  they  are  not  prevented  by  fome  of  the 
oppofite  party,  who  fly  to  intercept  it. 

This  game  is  generally  played  by  large  compa- 
nies, that  fometimes  confifb  of  more  than  three  hun- 
dred; and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  different  bands  ta 
play  againfl  each  other. 


23S  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

They  begi.i  by  fixing  two  poles  in  the  ground  at 
about  fix  hundred  yards  apart,  and  one  of  thefe 
goals  belong  to  each  party  of  the  combatants.  The 
ball  is  thrown  up  high  in  the  centre  of  the  ground, 
and  in  a  direct  line  between  the  goals ;  towards  which 
each  party  endeavours  to  ftrike  it,  and  whichfoever 
iide  firit  caufes  it  to  reach  their  own  goal,  reckons 
towards  the  game. 

They  are  fo  exceeding  dextrous  in  this  manly  ex- 
ercife,  that  the  ball  is  ufually  kept  flying  in  different 
directions  by  the  force  of  the  rackets,  without  touch- 
ing the  ground  during  the  whole  contention;  for 
they  are  not  allowed  to  -catch  it  with  their  hands. 
They  run  with  amazing  velocity  in  purfuit  of  each 
other,  and  when  one  is  on  the  point  of  hurling  it  to 
a  great  diftance,  an  antagonist  overtakes  him,  and 
by  a  fudden  ftroke  dafhes  down  the  ball. 

They  play  with  fo  much  vehemence  that  they 
frequently  wound  each  other,  and  fometimes  a  bone 
is  broken  -,  but  notwithftanding  thefe  accidents  there 
never  appears  to  be  any  fpite  or  wanton  exertions  of 
ftrength  to  effect  them,  nor  do  any  difputes  ever 
happen  between  the  parties. 

There  is  another  game  alfo  in  ufe  among  them 
worthy  of  remark,  and  this  is  the  game  of  the  Bowl 
or  Platter.  This  game  is  played  between  two  per- 
fons  only.  Each  perfon  has  fix  or  eight  little  bones 
notuniikea  peach-Hone  either  in  fize  orfhape,  except 
they  are  quadrangular;  two  of  the  fides  of  which  are 
coloured  black,  and  the  others  white.  Thefe  they 
throw  up  into  the  air,  from  whence  they  fall  into  a 
bowi  cr  platter  placed  under-neath,  and  made  to 
fpin  round. 

According  as  thefe  bones  prefent  the  white  or 
black  fide  upwards  they  reckon  the  game;    he  that 


CARVER'S     TRAVE 


39 


happens  to  have  the  greateft   number  turn  up  of  a 
fimiiar  colour,  councs  five  points;  and  forty  is  the 


game. 


The  winning  party  keeps  his  place,  and  the  lofer 
yields  his  to  another  who  is  appointed  by  one  of  the 
umpires;  for  a  whole  village  is  fometimes  concerned 
in  the  party,  and  at  times  one  band  plays  agaipft 
another. 

During  this  play  the  Indians  appear  to  be  greatly 
agitated,  and  at  every  decifive  throw  fet  up  a  hideous 
ihout.  They  make  a  thoufand  contortions,  addref- 
fing  themfelves  at  the  fame  time  to  the  bones,  and 
loading  with  imprecations  the  evil  fpirits  that  affifr 
their  fuccefbful  antagonifts. 

At  this  game  fome  will  lofe  their  apparel,  all  the 
moveables  of  their  cabins,  and  fometimes  even  their 
liberty;  notwithstanding  there  are  no  people  in  the 
univerfe  more  jealous  of  the  latter  than  the  Indians 
are. 


m 


z4° 


C  A  R  V  E  R's    T_R  A  V  E  L  S. 


CHAPTER     XII. 


Of  their  Marriage  Ceremonies,  i£c. 


T 


H  E  Indians  allow  of  polygamy,  and  per- 
sons of  every  rank  indulge  themfelves  in  this  point. 
The  chiefs  in  particular  have  a  feraglio,  which  con- 
fills  of  an  uncertain  number,  ufually  from  fix  to 
twelve  or  fourteen.  The  lower  ranks  are  permitted 
to  take  as  many  as  there  is  a  probability  of  their  being 
able,  with  the  children  they  may  bear,  to  maintain. 
It  is  not  uncommon  for  an  Indian  to  marry  two  fif- 
tersj  fometimes,  if  there  happen  to  be  more,  the 
whole  number  -,  and  notwithstanding  this  (as  it  appears 
to  civilized  nations)  unnatural  union,  they  all  live  in 
the  greateft  harmony. 

The  younger  wives  are  fubmiflive  to  the  elder; 
and  thofe  who  have  no  children,  do  fuch  menial 
offices  for  thofe  who  are  fertile,  as  caufes  their  fitu- 
ation  to  differ  but  little  from  a  ftate  of  fcrvitude. 
However  they  perform  every  injunction  with  the 
greateft  cheerfulnefs,  in  hopes  of  gaining  thereby  the 
affection  of  their  hufband,  that  they  in  their  turns 
may  have  the  happinefs  of  becoming  mothers,  and 
be  entitled  to  the  refpect  attendant  oh  that  ftate. 


CARVER's     TRAVELS.  241 

Ic  is  not  uncommon  for  an  Indian,  although  he 
takes  to  himfelf  fo  many  wives,  to  live  in  a  (late  of 
continence  with  many  of  them  for  feveral  years. 
Such  as  are  not  fo  fortunate  as  to  gain  the  favor  of 
their  hufband,  by  their  fubmifiive  and  prudent  be- 
haviour, and  by  that  means  to  ihare  in  his  embraces, 
continue  in  their  virgin  ftate  during  the  whole  of 
their  lives,  except  they  happen  to  be  preferred  by 
him  to  fome  ftranger  chief,  whole  abode  among  them 
v.  ill  not  admit  of  his  entering  into  a  more  lading 
connection.  In  this  cafe  they  fubmit  to  the  injunc- 
tion of  their  hufband  without  murmuring,  and  are 
not  difpleafed  at  the  temporary  union.  But  if  at 
any  time  it  is  known  that  they  take  this  liberty  with- 
out firft  receiving  his  confent,  they  are  punifned 
in  the  fame  manner  as  if  they  had  been  guilty  of 
adultery. 

This  cufrom  is  more  prevalent  among  the  nations 
which  lie  into  the  interior  parts,  than  among  thoie 
that  are  nearer  the  fettlements,  as  the  manners  of  the 
latter  are  rendered  more  conformable  in  feme  points 
to  thofe  of  the  Europeans,  by  the  intercourfe  they 
hold  with  them; 

The  Indian  nations  differ  but  little  from  each  other 
in  their  marriage  ceremonies,  andlefs  in  the  manner 
of  their  divorces*  The  tribes  that  inhabit  the  bor-* 
dcrs  of  Canada,  make  ufe  of  the  following  cuftom. 

When  a  young  Indian  has  fixed  his  inclinations 
on  one  of  the  other  fex,  he  endeavours  to  gain  her 
confent,  and  if  he  fucceeds,  it  is  never  known  that 
her  parents  ever  obfcrucl;  their  union.  When  every 
preliminary  is  agreed  on,  and  the  day  appointee, 
the  friends  and  acquaintance  of  both  parties  aliemble 
at  the  houfe  or  tent  of  the  oldefc  relation  of  the 

Hh 


i |2  CARVER'S     TRAVEL  S. 

bridegroom,  where  a  feafr  is  prepared  on  the  oc- 
casion. 

The  company  who  meet  to  affifl  at  the  feftival 
are  ibmetimes  very  numerous;  they  dance,  they 
fing,  and  enter  into  every  other  diverfion  ufually 
made  ufe  of  on  any  of  their  public  rejoicings. 

When  iht:^  are  finifhed,  all  tbofe  who  attended 
merely  out  of  ceremony  depart,  and  the  bridegroom 
and  bride  are  left  alone  with  three  or  four  of  the 
neareft  and  oldefb  relations  of  either  fide;  thofe  of 
the  bridegroom  being  men,  and  thofe  of  the  bride, 
women. 

Prefently  the  bride,  attended  by  thefe  few  friends, 
having  withdrawn  herfelf  for  the  purpofe,  appears 
at  one  of  the  doors  of  the  houfe,  and  is  led  to  the 
bridgroom,  who  (lands  ready  to  receive  her.  Hav- 
ing now  taken  their  fcation,  on  a  mat  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  room,  they  lay  hold  of  the  extremities 
of  a  wand,  about  four  feet  long,  by  which  they  con- 
tinue feparated,  whillt  the  old  men  pronounce 
fome  fhort  harangues  fuitable  to  the  *>ccafion. 

The  married  couple  afcer  this  make  a  public  de- 
claration of  the  love  and  regard  they  entertain  for 
each  other,  and  flill  holding  tne  rod  between  them, 
dance  and  iirig.  When  they  have  finifhed  this  part 
of  the  ceremony,  they  jbfre-ak  the  rod  into  as  many 
pieces  as  there  are.  wirneifes  pre  fen  t,  who  each  take 
a  piece,  and  prefcrve  it  with  great  care. 

The  bride  is  then  reconducted  out  of  the  door  at 
which  fhe  entered,  where  her  young  companions 
wait  to  attend  her  to  her  father's  houfe;  there  the 
bridegroom  is  obliged  to  f.  ek  her,  and  the  marriage 
is  confammated,     Very  ouen  tht  wife  remain 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS,  243 

her  father's  houfe  till  (he  has  a  child,  when  flic  packs 
up  her  apparel,  which  is  ail  the  fortune  Hie  is  gene* 
rally  pofieHed  of,  and  accompanies  her  huiband  to 
his  habitation. 

When  from  any  diilike  a  feparation  takes  place, 
for  they  are  feldom  known  to  quarrel,  they  gene- 
rally give  their  friends  a  few  days  notice  of  their  in- 
tentions, and  fometimes  offer  reafons  to  juftify  their 
conduct.  The  witneffes  who  were  prefent  at  the 
marriage,  meet  on  the  day  requeited,  at  the  houfe 
of  the  couple  that  are  about  to  feparate,  and  bringing 
with  them  the  pieces  of  rod  which  they  had  received 
at  their  nuptials,  throw  them  into  the  fire,  in  the 
prefence  of  all  the  parties, 

This  is  the  whole  of  the  ceremony  required,  and 
the  feparation  is  carried  on  without  any  murmur- 
ings  or  ill-will  between  the  couple  or  their  relations  j 
a  id  after  a  few  months  they  are  at  liberty  to  many 
again. 

When  a  marriage  is  thus  difiTolved,  the  children 
which  have  been  produced  from  it,  are  equally  di- 
vided between  them ;  and  as  children  are  eiteemed 
a  treafure  ISy  the  Indians,  if  the  number  happens  eo 
be  odd,  the  woman  is  allowed  to  take  the  better 
h|If. 

Though  this  cuftom  feems  to  encourage  fickle- 
nefs  and  frequent  feparations,  yet  there  are  many 
of  the  Indians  who  have  but  one  wife,  and  enjoy 
with  her  a  itate  of  connubial  happinefs  not  to  be 
exceeded  in  more  refined  focieties.  There  are  alfa 
not  a  few  inftances  of  women  preferving  an  inviola- 
ble attachment  to  their  huibands,  except  in  the  cafei 
beforementioned,  which  are  not  confidered  as  ei 
elation  of  their  chaftity  or  fidelity. 


244 


CARVER'S     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 


Although  I  have  faid  that  the  Indian  nations  differ 
verv  Utik  from  each  other  in  their  marriage  ceremo- 
niQ53  t.vere  are  fome  exceptions.  The  NaudowefTies 
have  a  iinguiar  method  of  celebrating  their  marri- 
ages, which  ieems  to  bear  no  refemblance  to  thofe 
made  ufe  of  by  any  ether  nation  I  paifed  through, 
n  one  of  their  young  men  has  fixed  on  a  young 
v7oinan  he  approves  of,  he  difcovers  his  paffion  to 
her  parents,  who  give  him  an  invitation  to  come  and 
live  with  them  in  their  tent. 

He  accordingly  accepts  the  offer,  and  by  fo  doing 
:o  reiicie  in  it  for  a  whole  year,  in  the  charac- 
ter or"  a  menial  fervant.      During  this  time  he  hunts, 
and  brings  ail  the   game   he  kiils  to  the  family;  by 
which  means  the  father  has  an  opportunity  of  feeing 
whether  1  -:  *s  able  to  provide  for  the  fupport  of  his. 
hterarid  the  children  that  might  be  the  conie- 
quence  of  their  union.     This  however  is  only  done 
1ft  they  are  young  men,  and  for  their  nrft  wife, 
and  not  repeated  like  Jacob's  iervitudes. 

When  this  period  is  expired,  the  marriage  is  fo- 
lemnized  after  the  cuftomof  the  country,  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner-:  Three  or  four  of  the  oldeft  male 
relations  of  the  bridegroom,  and  as  miny  of  the 
bride's,  accompany  the  young  couple  from  their  ref- 
peenve  tents,  to  an  open  part  in  the  centre  of  the 
camp. 

The  chiefs  and  warriors,  being  here  alTembled  to 

receive  them,  a  party  of  the  latter  are  drawn  up  into 

two  ranks  on  each  fide  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom 

ediately     on    their    arrival.        Their   principal 

fs  then  acquaints  the  whole  aiTembly  with    the 

defiga   of  their  meeting,   and    tells    them  that   the 

couple    before  them,  mentioning  at  the    fame   time 

names,   are  come  to  avow   publicly    their  in- 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  245 

rentions  of  living  together  as  man  and  wife.  He 
then  afks  the  two  young  people  alternately,  whe- 
ther they  defire  that  the  union  might  take  place. 
Having  declared  with  an  audible  voice  that  they  do 
fo,  the  warriors  fix  their  arrows,  and  difcharge  them 
over  the  heads  of  the  married  pair;  this  done,  the 
chief  pronounces  them  man  and  wife. 

The  bridegroom  then  turns  round,  and  bending 
his  body,  takes  his  wife  on  hisback,  in  which  man- 
ner he  carries  her  amidit  the  acclamations  of  the 
fpeclators  to  his  tent.  The  ceremony  is  fucceeded  by 
the  mofl  plentiful  feaft  the  new  married  man  can 
afford,  and  fongs  and  dances,  according  to  the  ufua! 
euftom,  conclude  the  feftival. 

Divorces  happen  fo  feldom  among  the  Naudowef- 
fies,  that  I  had  not  an  opportunity  of  learning  how 
they  are  accomplifhed. 

Adultery  is  efteemed  by  them  a  heinous  crime,  and 
punifhed  with  the  greater!  rigor.  The  hufband  in 
thefe  cafes  bites  off  the  wife's  nofe,  and  a  feparation 
inftantly  enfues.  I  faw  an  inftance  wherein  this  mode 
of  punifhment  v/as  inflicted,  whilft  I  remained  among 
them.  The  children,  when  this  happens,  are  diflri- 
buted  according  to  the  ufual  cuilom  obferved  by 
other  nations,  that  is,  they  are  equally  divided. 

Among  the  Indian  as  well  as  European  nations, 
there  are  manythatdevotethemfelvestopleafure,  and 
notwithstanding  the  accounts  given  by  fome  modern 
writers  of  the  frigidity  of  an  Indian  conltitution,  be- 
come the  zealous  votaries  of  Venus.  The  young 
warriors  that  are  thus  difpofed,  feldom  want  oppor- 
tunities for  gratifying  their  paffionj  and  as  the  mode 
ufuaiy  followed  on  thefe  occafions  is  rather  lingular, 
I  fhail  defcribc  it. 


C  A  R  V  E  R  's     T  R  A  V  ELS. 

When  one  of  thefe  young  debauchees  imagines, 
from  the  behaviour  of  the  perfon  he  has  chofen  for 
liis  mi  fire  fs,  that  lie  {hall  not  meet  with  any  great 
obftrudlion  to  his  fuit  from  her,  he  purfues  the  fol- 
lowing plan. 

It  has  been  already  obferved,  that  the  Indians 
acknowledge  no  fupcriority,  nor  have  they  any  ideas 
o/fubordiriation,  except  in  the  neceffary  regulations 
of  their  war  or   hunting   parties;   they   consequently 

live  nearly  in  a  flate  of  equality,  purfuant  to  tne  firft 
principles  of  nature,  Tne  lover  tnerefore  is  not  ap- 
prehenfive  of  any  check  or  control  in  the  accom- 
pliihment  of  his  purpofes,  if  he  can  find  a  conveni- 
ent opportunity  for  completing  them. 

As  the  Indians  are  alio  under  no  apprchenfion  of 
robbers,  or  fecret  enemies,  they  leave  the  doors  of 
their  tents  or  huts  unfaflened  during  the  night,  as 
well  as  in  the  day.  Two  or  three  hours  after  funfet, 
the  (laves  or  old  people  cover  over  the  fire,  that  is 
generally  burning  in  the  mid  ft  of  their  apartment, 
with  afhes,  and  retire  to  their  repofe. 

Whilft  darknefs  thus  prevails,  and  all  is  quiet, 
ans  of  thefe  fons  o/  pieafure,  wrapped  up  cloftly  in 
his  blanket,  to  prevent  his  being  known,  will  fome- 
tim.es  enter  the  apartment  of  his  intended  miftrcis. 
Having  firft  lighted  at  the  (mothered  fire  a  imall 
ipiinter  of  wood,  which  anfwers  the  purpofe  of  a 
match,  he  approaches  the  place  where  fine  repofes> 
rr.d  gently  pulling  away  the  covering  from  the  head,, 
jogs  her  till  (he  awakes.  If  fke  then  riles  up,  and 
Wows  out  the  light,  lie  needs  no  further  confirma- 
tion that  his  company  is  not  difagreeable  ;  but  if, 
after  he  has  difcorered  hrmfelf,  me  hides  her  head^ 
arid  takes  no  notice  of  him,  he  might  reft  alTure4 


^ARVER's    TRAVEL  S.  247 

any    further    folicitations  will  prove  vain,   and 
that  it  is  neceflary  immediately  for  him  to  retire, 

During  his  (lay  he  conceals  the  light  as  much  as 
ble  in  the  h<  How  of  his  hands,  and  as  the  tents 
or  100ms  of  the  Indians  are  ufually  large  and  capaci- 
ous, he  efcapes  without  detection.  It  is  faid  that  the 
young  women  who  admit  their  lovers  on  thefe  occa- 
sions, take  great  care,  by  an  immediate  application 
to  herbs,  with  the  pbtertt  efficacy  of  which  they  are 
well  acquainted,  to  prevent  the  effects  of  thefe  illicit 
amours  from  becoming  vinble  ;  for  mould  the  hatu- 
ral  con ie que r. ccs  erdue,  they  muft  lor  ever  remain 
unmarried. 

The  children  of  the  Indians  are  always  diftin- 
guifned  bv  the  name  of  the  mother  :  and  if  a  woman 
marries  feverai  huibands,  and  has  iflue  by  each  of 
them,  they  are  all  called  after  her.  The  reafen  they 
give  for  this  is,  that  as  their  offspring  are  indebted 
to  the  father  for  their  fouls,  the  invifible  part  of 
their  efTence,  and  to  the  mother  for  their  corporeal 
and  apparent  part,  it  is  more  rational  that  they 
fllould  be  diitinguifhed  by  the  name  of  the  latter, 
from  whom  they  indubitably  derive  their  being, 
than  by  that  of  the  father,  to  which  a  doubt  might 
fometimes  ariie  whether  they  are  juftly  entitled. 

There  are  fome  ceremonies  made  ufe  of  by  the 
Indians  at  the  impofition  oi  the  name,  and  it  is  con- 
fidered  by  them  as  a  matter  of  great  importance j 
but  what  thefe  are  I  could  never  learn,  through  the 
fttrecy  obferved  on  the  occaMcn.  I  only  know  that 
it  is  ufually  given  when  the  children  have  pafTed  the 
Rate  of  infancy. 

.thing  car  exceed  the  tendernefs  fhewn  bv  them 
to  their  offsprings   and  a  per/on  cannot  recommend 


24S  CARVER'S     TRAVELS, 

himfclf  to  their  favour  by  any  method  more  certairi, 
than  by  paying  fome  attention  to  the  younger  bran- 
ches of  their  families.  I  can  impute,  in  fome  mea- 
fure,  to  the  prefents  I  made  to  the  children  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  Naudowt  flies,  the  hofpi table  reception 
I  met  with  when  among  them. 

There  is  fome  difficulty  attends  an  explanation  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  Indians  diftinguifh  them- 
telves  from  each  other.  Befides  the  name  of  the 
animal  by  which  every  nation  and  tribe  is  denomi- 
nated, there  are  others  that  are  perfonal,  and  which 
the  children  receive  from  their  mother. 

The  chiefs  are  alfo  diftinguifhed  by  a  name  that 
has  either  fome  reference  to  their  abilities,  or  to  the 
hieroglyphic  of  their  families  -3  and  thefe  are  ac- 
quired after  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  manhood. 
Such  as  have  fignalized  themfelves  either  in  their 
war  or  hunting  parties,  or  are  pofiefled  of  fome  emi- 
nent qualification,  receive  a  name  that  ferves  to  per- 
petuate the  fame  of  their  actions  or  to  make  their 
abilities  confpicuous. 

Thus  the  great  warrior  of  the  Naudoweffies  was 
named  Ottahtongoomliihcah,  that  is,  the  Great  Fa- 
ther of  Snakes  :  ottah  being  in  Englifh  father,  ton- 
goom  great,  and  lifhcah  a  fnake.  Another  chief 
was  called  Honahpawjatin,  which  means  a  fwift  run- 
ner over  the  mountains.  And  when  they  adopted 
me  a  chief  among  them,  they  named  me  Shebaygo, 
which  fignities  a  writer,  or  a  perfon  that  is  curious 
in  making  hieroglyphics,  as  they  law  me  often  wri- 
ting. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


*49 


CHAPTER     XIII. 


Of  their  Religion. 


j[T  is  ve?y  difficult  to  attain  a  per  feci:  know- 
ledge of  the  religious  principles  of  the  Indians. 
Their  ceremonies  and  doctrines  have  been  fo  often 
ridiculed  by  the  Europeans,  that  they  endeavour  to 
conceal  them  ;  and  ijf,  after  the  greatefr,  intimacy, 
you  defire  any  of  thqn?  to  explain  to  you  their  fyftem 
of  religion,  to  prevent  your  ridicule,  they  intermix 
with  it  many  of  the  tenets  they  have  received  from 
the  French  miffionari.es,  fo  that  it  is  atlaft  rendered 
an  unintelligible  jargon  and  not  to  be  depended 
upon. 

Such  as  I  could  difcover  among  the  Naudoweffies 
(for  they  alfo  were  very  referved  in  this  point)  I  ihall 
give  my  readers,  without  paying  any  attention  to 
the  accounts  of  others.  As  the  religion  of  that  peo- 
ple from  their  fnuation  appears  to  be  totally  unadul- 
terated with  the  fuperllitions  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
we  mall  be  able  to  gain  from  their  religious  cuftoms 
a  more  perfect  idea  of  the  original  tenets  and  cere- 
monies of  the  Indians  in  general,  than  from  thofe  of 
any  nations  that  approach  nearer  to  the  fettlements. 

It  is  certain  they  acknowledge  one  Supreme  Be- 
ing, or  Giver  of  Life,  who  prefides  over  all  thingSo 

I  i 


CARVER'S     T  R  A  V  ELS. 

The  Chipcways  call  this  Being  Maniton,  or  Kitchi 
ManitoUj  the  NaudowefTies,  Wakon  or  Tongo- 
Wakoni  that  is,  the  Great  Spirit  -,  and  they  look 
up  to  him  as  the  fource  of  good,  from  whom  no 
evil  can  proceed.  They  alio  believe  in  a  bad  fpirit, 
to  whom  they  afcribc  great  power,  and  fuppofe 
that  through  his  means  all  the  evils  which  befal  man- 
kind are  inflicted.  To  him  therefore  do  they  pray 
:n  their  difrrefTes,  begging  that  he  would  either  avert 
their  troubles,  or  moderate  them  when  they  are  no 
longer  avoidable. 

They  fay  that  the  Great  Spirit,  who  is  infinitely 
good  neither  willies  or  is  able  to  do  any  mifchief  to 
mankind ;  but  on  the  contrary,  that  he  fhowers 
down  on  them  all  the  bleiTings  they  deferve ;  whereas 
the  evil  fpirit  is  continually  employed  in  contriving 
how  he  may  punilli  the  human4tace  ;  and  to  do  which 
he  is  not  only  pofTeiTed  of  the  ft'ill,  but  of  the  power. 

They  hold  alio  that  there  are  good  fpirits  of  a  lef- 
fer  degree,  who  have  their  particular  departments, 
in  which  they  are  conftantly  contributing  to  thehap- 
pinefs  of  mortals.  Thefe  they  fuppofe  to  prefide  over 
all  the  extraordinary  productions  of  nature,  fuch  as 
thofe  lakes,  rivers,  or  mountains  that  are  of  an  un- 
common magnitude  ;  and  likewife  the  bcaits,  birds, 
rimes,  and  even  vegetables,  or  flones  that  exceed 
the  reft  of  their  fpecies  in  fize  or  fingularity.  To  all 
of  thefe  they  pay  feme  kind  of  adoration.  Thus 
when  they  arrive  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Superior, 
on  the  banks  of  the  MifTiflippi,  or  any  other  great 
body  of  water,  they  prefent  to  the  Spirit  who  refides 
•  lb  me  kind  of  offering,  as  the  prince  of  the 
^.ebagoes  did  when  he  attended  me  to  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony. 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  2;i 

But  at  the  fame  time  I  fancy  that  the  ideas  they 
annex  to  the  word  fpiric,  are  very  different  from 
the  conceptions  more  enlightened  nations  entertain 
of  it.  They  appear  to  fafhion  to  themfelves  corpo- 
real reprefentations  of  their  gods,  and  believe  them 
to  be  of  a  human  form,  though  of  a  nature  more 
excellent  than  man. 

Of  the  fame  kind  are  their  fenciments  relative  to  a 
futurity.  They  doubt  not  but  they  mail  exift  in 
fome  future  ftate;  they  however  fancy  that  their 
employments  there  will  be  fimilar  to  thofe  they  are 
engaged  in  here,  without  the  labor  and  difficulties 
annexed  to  them  in  this  period  of  their  exifience. 

They  confequently  expect  to  be  tranflated  to  a 
delightful  country,  where  they  mail  always  have  a 
clear  unclouded  iky,  and  enjoy  a  perpetual  ipring  ; 
where  the  forelh  will  abound  with  game,  and  ria£ 
lakes  with  fHh,  which  might  be  taken  without  a 
painful  exertion  of  fkill,  or  a  laborious  purfuit  •>  in 
fhort,  that  they  fhall  live  for  ever  in  regions  of 
plenty,  and  enjoy  every  gratification  they  delight  in 
here,  in  a  greater  degree. 

To  intellectual  pleafures  they  are  ftrangers  -,  nor 
are  thefe  included  in  their  fcheme  of  happineis.  But 
they  expect  that  even  thefe  animal  pleafures  will  be 
proportioned  and  distributed  according  to  their  merit; 
the  fkilful  hunter,  the  bold  and  fuccefsful  warrior, 
will  be  entitled  to  a  greater  mare  than  thofe  who 
through  indolence  or  want  of  fkill  cannot  boaft  of 
any  fuperioity  over  the  common  herd. 

The  priefls  of  the  Indians  are  at  the  fame  time 
their  phyficians,  and  their  conjurers ;  whilft  they 
heal  their  wounds  or  cure  their  difeafes,  they  inter- 
pret their  dreams,  give  them  protective  charms>  an4 


*5: 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


fatisfy  that  defire  which  is  fo  prevalent  among  them, 
of  fearching  into  futurity. 

How  well  they  execute  the  latter  part  of  their 
profeflional  engagements,  and  the  methods  they 
make  ufe  of  on  fome  of  thefe  occafions,  I  have  al- 
ready ihewn  in  the  exertions  of  the  prieft  of  th$ 
Xilliilinces,  who  was  fortunate  enough  to  fucceed 
in  his  extraordinary  attempt  near  Lake  Superior. 
They  frequently  are  fuccefsful  liketvife  in  adminif- 
tering  the  falubrious  herbs  they  have  acquired  a 
knowledge  of;  but  that  the  ceremonies  they  make 
ufe  of  during  the  adminiftration  of  them  contri- 
butes to  their  fuccefs,  I  mail  not  take  upon  me  to 
sffert. 

When  any  of  the  people  are  ill,  the  perfon  who 
is  invented  with  this  triple  character  of  doctor,  prieff2 
and  magician,  fits  by  the  patient  day  and  night,  rat- 
tling in  his  ears  a  gourd- fhell  filled  with  dry  beans, 
called  a  Chichicoue,  and  making  a  difagreeable  noife 
that  cannot  be  well  defcribech 

This  uncouth  harmony  one  would  imagine  mould 
difturb  the  fick  perfon,  and  prevent  the  good  effects 
of  the  doctor's  prefcription;  but  on  the  contrary 
they  believe  that  the  method  made  ufe  of  contributes 
to  his  recovery,  by  diverting  from  his  malignant 
purpefes  the  evil  fpirit  who  has  inflicted  the  difor- 
der  j  or  at  leaft  that  it  will  take  off  his  attention, 
fo  that  he  fball  not  increafe  the  malady.  This 
they  are  credulous  enough  to  imagine  he  is  con- 
ftantly  on  the  watch  to  do,  and  would  carry  his  in- 
veteracy to  a  fatal  length  if  they  did  not  thus  charm 
him. 

I  could  not  difcover  that  they  make  ufe  of  any 
jnr.hcr  religious  ceremonies  than  thofe  I  have  def- 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  255 

cribedi  indeed,  on  the  appearance  of  the  new- 
moon  they  dance  and  fing;  but  it  is  not  evident  that 
they  pay  that  planet  any  adoration ;  they  only  feem 
to  rejoice  at  the  return  of  a  luminary  that  makes  the 
night  cheerful,  and  which  ferves  to  light  them  on 
their  way  when  they  travel  during  the  abfence  of 
the  fun. 

Notwithfianding  Mr.  Adair  has  afTerted  that  the 
nations  among  whom  he  refided,  obferve  with 
very  little  variation  all  the  rites  appointed  by 
the  Mofaic  Law.  I  own  I  could  never  difcover 
among  thofe  tribes  that  lie  but  a  few  degrees  to  the 
north-weft,  the  leaft  traces  of  the  Jewifh  religion, 
except  it  be  admitted  that  one  particular  female 
cuftom  and  their  divifion  into  tribes,  carry  with 
them  proofs  fuflicient  to  eftablifh  this  alTertion. 

The  Jefuits  and  French  miffionaries  have  alio 
pretended  that  the  Indians  had,  when  they  firft  tra- 
velled into  America,  fomt  notions,  though  thefe 
were  dark  and  confufed,  of  the  chriftian  inititution; 
that  they  have  been  greatly  agitated  at  the  fight  of  a 
crofs,  and  given  proofs,  by  the  imprtffions  made 
on  them,  that  they  were  not  entirely  unacquainted 
with  the  facred  myfteries  of  Chriflianity.  I  need 
not  fay  that  thefe  are  too  glaring  abfurdities  to  be 
credited,  and  could  only  receive  their  exiftence  from 
the  zeal  of  t;hofe  fathers,  who  endeavoured  at  once 
to  give  the  public  a  better  opinion  of  the  fuccefs  of 
their  millions,  and  to  add  fupport  to  the  caufe  they 
were  engaged  in. 

The  Indians  appear  to  be  in  their  religious  prin- 
ciples, rude  and  uninftrucled.  The  doctrines  they 
hold  are  few  and  fimple,  and  fuch  as  have  been  ge- 
nerally imprefled    on  the   human   mind,    by  fome 


254  CARVER'S       TRAVELS. 

means  or  other,  in  the  moft  ignorant  ages.  They 
however  have  not  deviated,  as  many  other  uncivi- 
lized nations,  and  too  many  civilized  ones  have 
done,  into  idolatrous  modes  of  worfhip.j  they  ve- 
nerate indeed,  and  make  offerings  to  the  wonderful 
parts  of  the  creation,  as  I  have  before  obferved;  but 
whether  thefe  rites  are  performed  on  account  of  the 
impreflion  fuch  extraordinary  appearances  make  on 
them,  or  whether  they  confider  them  as  the  pecu- 
Ifar  charge,  or  the  uiual  places  of  refidence  of  the 
invifible  fpirits  they  acknowledge,  I  cannot  pofi- 
tively  determine. 

The  human  mind  in  its  uncultivated  flate  is  apt 
to  afcribe  the  extraordinary  occurrences  of  nature, 
fuch  as  earthquakes,  thunder,  or  hurricanes,  to  the 
interpofition  of  unfeen  beings;  the  troubles  and  dif- 
aftcrs  alio  that  are  annexed  to  a  favage  life,  the  ap- 
prehenfions  attendant  on  a  precarious  fubfiftence 
and  thofe  numberlefs  inconveniences  which  man  in 
his  improved  ftate  has  found  means  to  remedy,  are 
fuppoled  to  proceed  from  the  interpofition  of  evil 
fpirits  -,  the  favage  confequently  lives  in  continual 
apprehenfions  of  their  unkind  attacks,  and  to  avert 
them  has  recourfe  to  charms,  to  the  fantaftic  cere- 
monies of  his  pried,  or  the  powerful  influence  of 
his  Manitous.  Fear  has  of  courfe  a  greater  fhare  in 
his  devotions  than  gratitude,  and  he  pays  more  at- 
tention to  deprecating  the  wrath  of  the  evil  than  to 
fecuring  the  favor  of  the  good  beings. 

The  Indians,  however,  entertain  thefe  abfurdities 
in  common  with  thofe  of  every  part  of  the  globe 
who  have  not  been  illumined  by  that  religion  which 
only  can  difperfe  the  clouds  of  fuperftition  and  ig- 
norance, and  they  are  as  free  from  error  as  a  people 
can  be  that  has  not  been  favored  with  its  inftructive 
doctrines. 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  255 


CHAPTER    XIV, 


Of  their  Difeajes,    $£c 


T: 


HE  Indians  in  general  are  healthy,  and 
fubjedt  but  to  few  difeafes,  many  of  thofe  that  afflict 
civilized  nations,  and  are  the  immediate  confe- 
quences  of  luxury  or  fioth,  being  not  known  among 
them;  however,  the  hardfhips  and  fatigues  which 
they  endure  in  hunting  or  war,  the  inclemency  of 
the  feafons  to  which  they  are  continually  expofed, 
but  above  all  the  extremes  of  hunger,  and  that  vora- 
cioufnefs  their  long  excurfions  coniequently  fubjecl 
them  to,  cannot  fail  of  impairing  the  constitution, 
and  bringing  on  diforders. 

Pains  and  weakneffes  in  the  ftomach  and  bread 
are  fometimes  the  refult  of  their  long  fading,  and 
confumptions  of  the  excefiive  fatigue  and  violent 
exercifes  they  expofe  themfelves  to  from  their  in- 
fancy, before  they  have  fufficient  ftrength  to  fup- 
port  them.  But  the  diforder  to  which  they  are  moll 
fubje6t,  is  the  pleurify;  for  the  removal  of  which, 
they  apply  their  grand  remedy  and  prefervative 
againft  the  generality  of  their  complaints,  fweat- 
ing. 


zS6  CARVE  R's     TRAVEL?- 

The  manner  in  which  they  conftruct  their  ftoves  for 
this  purpofe  is  as  follows :  They  fix  feveral  fmall  poles 
in  the  ground,  the  tops  of  which  they twift  together, 
fo  as  to  form  a  rotunda:  this  frame  they  cover  with 
fkins  or  blankets;  and  they  lay  them  on  with  fo 
much  nicety,  that  the  air  is  kept  from  entering 
through  any  crevice;  a  fmall  fpace  being  only  left, 
juft  fufficient  to  creep  in  at,  which  is  immediately 
after  clofed.  In  the  middle  of  this  confined  building 
they  place  red  hot  ftone,  on  which  they  pour  water 
till  a  fleam  arifes  that  produces  a  great  degree  of 
heat. 

This  caufes  an  inftantaneous  perfpiration,  which 
they  increafe  as  they  pleafe.  Having  continued  in 
it  for  fome  time,  they  immediately  haften  to  the 
nearefl  dream,  and  plunge  into  the  water;  and, 
after  bathing  therein  for  about  half  a  minute,  they 
put  on  their  clothes,  fit  down  and  fmoke  with  great 
compofure,  thoroughly  perfuaded  that  the  remedy 
will  prove  efficacious.  They  often  make  ufe  of  this 
iudoriferous  method  to  refrefh  themfelves,  or  to 
prepare  their  minds  for  the  management  of  any 
bufinefs  that  requires  uncommon  deliberation  and 
fagacity. 

They  are  likewife  afflicted  with  the  dropfy  and 
paralytic  complaints,  which,  however,  arebutvery 
feldom  known  among  them.  As  a  remedy  for 
thefe  as  well  as  for  fevers  they  make  ufe  of  lotions 
and  decoctions,  compofed  of  herbs,  which  the 
phyficians  know  perfectly  well  how  to  compound 
and  apply.  But  they  never  truft  to  medicines  alone; 
they  always  have  recourfe  likewife  to  fome  fuper- 
flitious  ceremonies,  without  which  their  patients 
would  not  think  the  phyfical  preparations  fufficiently 
powerful. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


2S7 


With  equal  judgment  they  make  ufe  of  fimples 
for  the  cure  of  wounds,  fractures,  or  bruifes;  and 
are  able  to  extract  by  thefe,  wichout  incifion,  fplin- 
ters,  iron,  or  any  other  fort  of  matter  by  which  the 
wound  is  caufed.  In  cures  of  this  kind  they  are 
extremely  dextrous,  and  complete  them  in  much  lefs 
time  than  might  be  expected  from  their  mode  of 
proceeding. 

With  the  fkin  of  a  fnake,  which  thofe  reptiles 
annually  fried,  they  will  alio  extract  fplinters.  It  is 
amazing  to  fee  the  fudden  efficacy  of  this  application, 
notwithstanding  there  does  not  appear  to  be  the  lead 
moifture  remaining  in  it. 

It  has  long  been  a  fubject  of  difpute,  on  what 
continent  the  venereal  difeafe  firfl:  received  its  de- 
ftructive  power.  This  dreadful  malady  is  fuppofed 
to  have  originated  in  America,  but  the  literary  con- 
tend Hill  remains  undecided;  to  give  lbme  elucidation 
to  it  I  fhall  remark,  that  as  I  could  not  difcover  the 
lead  traces  among  the  Naudoweflies,  with  whom  I 
refided  fo  long,  and  was  alio  informed  that  it  was  yet 
unknown  among  the  more  weftern  nations,  I  think 
I  may  venture  to  pronounce  that  it  hadr^ot  its  origin 
in  North-America.  Thofe  nations  that  have  any 
communication  with  the  Europeans,  or  the  fouthern 
tribes,  are  greatly  afflicted  with  it;  but  they  have 
all  of  them  acquired  a  knowledge  of  fuch  certain 
and  expeditious  remedies,  that  the  communication 
is  not  attended  with  any  dangerous  confequences. 

Soon  after  I  fet  out  on  my  travels,  one  of  the  tra- 
ders whom  I  accompanied,  complained  of  a  violent 
gonorrhoea,  with  all  its  alarming  fymptoms  :  this 
increafed  to  fuch  a  degree,  that  by  the  time  we  had 
reached  the  town  of  the  Winnebago^s,  he  was  una- 

Kk 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 

ble  to  travel.  Having  made  his  complaint  known 
to  one  of  the  chiefs  of  that  tribe,  he  told  him  not 
to  be  uneafy,  for  he  would  engage  that  by  following 
his  advice,  he  ihould  be  able  in  a  few  days  to  purfue 
his  journey,  and  in  a  little  longer  time  be  entirely 
free  from  his  dilbrder. 

The  chief  had  no  fooner  faid  this  than  he  prepared 
for  him  a  decoction  of  the  bark  of  the  roots  of  the 
prickly  afh,  a  tree  fcarcely  known  in  England,  but 
which  grows  in  great  plenty  throughout  North- 
America  -,  by  the  ufe  of  which,  in  a  few  days  he 
was  greatly  recovered,  and  having  received  directi- 
ons how  to  prepare  it,  in  a  fortnight  after  his  de- 
parture from  this  place  perceived  that  he  was  radi- 
cally cured. 

If  from  excefiive  exercife,  or  the  extremes  of  heat 
or  cold,  they  are  affected  with  pains  in  their  limbs  or 
joints,  they  fcarify  the  parts  affected.  Thofe  nati- 
ons who  have  no  commerce  with  Europeans  do  this 
with  a  fharp  flints  and  it  is  furprifing  to  fee  to  how 
fine  a  point  they  have  the  dexterity  to  bring  them; 
a  lancet  can  fcarcely  exceed  in  fharpnefs  the  inftru- 
ments  they  make  of  this  unmalleable  fubftance. 

They  never  can  be  convinced  a  perfon  is  ill, 
whilft  he  has  an  appetite  -,  but  when  he  rejects  all 
kind  of  nourimment,  they  confider  the  difeafe  as 
dangerous,  and  pay  great  attention  to  it;  and  dur- 
ing the  continuance  of  the  diforder,  the  phyflcian 
refufes  his  patient  no  fort  of  food  that  he  is  defi- 
rous  of. 

Their  doctors  are  not  only  fuppofed  to  be  fkilled 
in  the  phyfical  treatment  of  difeafes;  but  the  com- 
mon  people  believe  that  by  the  ceremony  of  the  Chi* 
chicoue  ufually  made  ufe   of,  as  before  defcribed,, 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  259 

they  are  able  to  gain  intelligence  from  the  fpirits,  of 
the  caufe  of  the  complaints  with  which  they  are 
afflicted,  and  are  thereby  the  better  enabled  to  find 
remedies'  for  them.  They  difcover  fomething  hV 
pernatural  in  all  their  difeafcs,  and  the  phyiic 
administered  mull  invariably  be  aided  by  thele  lli- 
perllitions. 

Sometimes  a  fick  perfon  fancies  that  his  diforder 
arifes  from  witchcraft;  in  this  cafe  the  phyfician  or 
juggler  is  confulted,  who,  after  the  ufual  prepara- 
tions, gives  his  opinion  on  the  ftate  of  the  difeafe, 
and  frequently  finds  fome  means  for  his  cure.  But 
notwithflanding  the  Indian  phyficians  always  annex 
thefe  fuperftitious  ceremonies  to  their  prefcriptions, 
it  is  very  certain,  as  I  have  already  obferved,  that 
they  exercife  their  art  by  principles  which  are  founded 
on  the  knowledge  of  fimples,  and  on  experience, 
which  they  acquire  by  an  indefatigable  attention  to 
their  operations. 

The  following  (lory,  which  I  received  from  a 
perfon  of  undoubted  credit,  proves  that  the  Indians 
are  not  only  able  to  reafon  with  great  acutenefs  on 
the  caufes  and  fymptoms  of  many  of  the  diforders 
which  are  attendant  on  human  nature,  but  to  apply 
with  equal  judgment  proper  remedies. 

In  Penobfcot,  a  lettlement  in  die  province  of 
Main,  in  the  north-eaft  parts  of  New-England,  the 
wife  of  a  foldier  was  taken  in  labor,  and  notwith- 
flanding every  neceiTary  alYiftance  was  given  her, 
could  not  be  delivered.  In  this  fituation  fhe  re- 
mained for  two  or  three  days,  the  perfons  around 
her  expecting  that  the  next  pang  would  put  an  end  to 
her  exiftence. 


260  CARVER' s    TRAVEL^ 

An  Indian  woman,  who  accidently  pafifed  by, 
heard  the  groans  of  the  unhappy  fufferer,  and  enquired 
from  whence  they  proceeded.  Being  made  acquainted 
with  the  defperate  circumtlances  attending  the  cafe, 
{he  told  the  informant,  that  if  fhe  might  be  permit- 
ted to  fee  the  perfon,  ihe  did  not  doubt  but  that  fhe 
fbould  be  of  great  fervice  to  her. 

The  furgeon  that  had  attended,  and  the  midwife 
who  was  then  prefent,  having  given  up  every  hope 
of  preferving  their  patient,  the  Indian  woman  was 
allowed  to  makeufe  of  any  methods  Ihe  thought  pro- 
per. She  accordingly  took  a  handkerchief,  and 
bound  it  tight  over  the  nofe  and  mouth  of  the  wo- 
man: this  immediately  brought  on  a  fuffocation; 
and  from  the  ftruggles  that  confequently  enfued,  fhe 
was  in  a  few  feconds  delivered.  The  moment  this 
was  achieved,  and  time  enough  to  prevent  any 
fatal  effect,  the  handkerchief  was  taken  off.  The 
long-fuffering  patient  thus  happily  relieved  from 
her  pains,  foon  after  perfectly  recovered,  to  the 
aitonifhment  of  all  thofe  who  had  been  witnefs  to 
her  defperate  fituation. 

The  reafon  given  by  the  Indian  for  this  hazardous 
method  of  proceeding  was,  that  defperate  diforders 
require  defperate  remedies;  that  as  fhe  obferved  the 
exertions  of  nature  were  not  fufficiently  forcible  to 
effect  the  defired  confequence,  fhe  thought  it  ne- 
ceffary  to  augment  their  force,  which  could  only  be 
done  by  fome  mode  that  was  violent  in  the  extreme* 


CARVERS  TRAVELS.      261 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Of  the  Marnier  in  which  they  treat  their  Bead, 


x\N  Indian  meets  death  when  it  approaches 
him  in  his  hut,  with  the  fame  refolution  he  has  often 
faced  him  in  the  field.  His  indifference  relative  to 
this  important  article,  which  is  the  fource  of  fo 
many  apprehenfions  to  almoft  every  other  nation,  is 
truly  admirable.  When  his  fate  is  pronounced  by 
the  phyfician,  and  it  remains  no  longer  uncertain, 
he  harangues  thofe  about  him  with  the  greater!  com- 
pofure. 

If  he  is  a  chief  and  has  a  family,  he  makes  a  kind 
of  funeral  oration,  which  he  concludes  by  giving 
to  his  children  fuch  advice  for  the  regulation  of  their 
conduct  as  he  thinks  necefiary.  He  then  takes 
leave  of  his  friends,  and  ifTues  out  orders  for  the 
preparation  of  a  feaft,  which  is  defigned  to  regale 
thofe  of  his  tribe  that  come  to  pronounce  his  eu- 
logium. 


After  the  breath  is  departed,  the  body  is  drefTed 
in  the  fame  attire  it  ufually  wore  whilft  living,  his 
face  is  painted,  ajid  he  feated  in  an  erect  poflure  on 
a  mat  or  fkin,  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  hut,  with 
his  weapons  by  his  fide.     His  relations  being  feated 


26-  CARVER's       TRAVELS. 

round,  each  harangues  in  turn  the  deceafed;  and  if 
he  has  been  a  great  warrior,  recounts  his  heroic 
actions  nearly  to  the  following  purport,  which  in 
the  Indian  language  is  extremely  poecical  and  plea- 
fing: 

<c  You  fiill  fit  among  us,  Brother,  your  perfon 
"  retains  its  ufual  refemblance,  and  continues  fimi- 
t(  lar  to  ours,  without  any  vilible  deficiency,  except 
lc  that  it  has  loft  the  power  of  action.  But  whither 
iC  is  that  bresth  flown,  which  a  few  hours  ago  lent 
(i  up  fmoke  to  the  Great  Spirit?  Why  are  thofe  lips 
<(  filent,  that  lately  delivered  to  us  expreffive  and 
tc  pleafmg  language  ?  why  are  thofe  feet  motionlefs, 
<s  that  a  (hort  time  ago  were  fleeter  than  the  deer  on 
<c  yonder  mountains?  why  ufeiefs  hang  thofe  arms 
<c  that  could  climb  the  talleft  tree,  or  draw  the 
<c  toughed  bow?  Alas!  every  part  of  that  frame 
u  which  we  lately  beheld  with  admiration  and  won- 
l(  der,  is  now  become  as  inanimate  as  it  was  three 
cc  hundred  winters  ago.  We  will  not,  however, 
tc  bemoan  thee  as  if  thou  waft  for  ever  loft  to  us, 
"  cr  that  thy  name  would  be  buried  in  oblivion; 
**  thy  foul  yet  lives  in  the  great  Country  of  Spirits, 
u  with  thofe  of  thy  nation  that  are  gone  before  thee; 
Cf  and  though  we  are  left  behind  to  perpetuate  thy 
<:  fame,  we  fhall  one  day  join  thee.  Actuated  by 
iC  the  refpect  we  bore  thee  whilft  living,  we  now 
"  come  to  tender  to  thee  the  laft  act  of  kindnefs  it 
tc  is  in  our  power  to  befcow:  that  thy  body  might 
fC  not  lie  neglected  on  the  plain,  and  become  a  prey 
fC  to  the  beaftsof  the  field,  or  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
cf  we  will  take  care  to  lay  it  with  thofe  of  thy  pre- 
cc  deceffors  who  are  gone  before  thee;  hoping  at  the 
"  fame  time,  that  thy  fpirit  will  feed  with  their 
c*  fpirits,  and  be  ready  to  receive  ours,  when  we 
fC  alio  fhall  arrive  at  the  great  Country  of  Souls. " 


CARVER's    TRAVELS.  2£3 

In  fhort  fpeeches  fomewhat  fimilar  to  this  does 
every  chief  ipeak  the  praifes  of  his  departed  friend. 
When  they  have  lo  done,  if  they  happen  to  be  at  a 
great  diftance  from  the  place  of  interment,  appro- 
priated to  their  tribe,  and  the  perfon  dies  during  the 
winter  feafon,  they  wrap  the  body  in  fkins,  and  lay 
it  on  a  high  ftage  built  for  this  purpofe,  or  on  the 
branches  of  a  large  tree,  till  the  fpring  arrives.  They 
then,  after  the  manner  defcribed  in  my  journal,  carry 
it,  together  with  all  thofe  belonging  to  the  fame 
nation,  to  the  general  burial-place,  where  it  is  in- 
terred with  fome  other  ceremonies  that  I  could  not 
difcover. 

When  the  Naudoweflies  brought  their  dead  for 
interment  to  the  great  cave,  I  attempted  to  get  an 
infight  into  the  remaining  burial  rites  -s  but  whether 
it  was  on  account  of  the  flench  which  arofe  from  fo 
many  bodies,  the  weather  being  then  hot,  or  whe- 
ther they  chofe  to  keep  this  part  of  their  cuftoms 
fecret  from  me,  I  could  not  difcover ;  I  found,  how- 
ever, that  they  confidered  my  curiofity  as  ill  timed, 
and  therefore  I  withdrew. 

After  the  interment,  the  band  to  which  the  perfon 
belongs,  take  care  to  fix  near  the  place  fuch  hiero- 
glyphics as  fhall  fhevv  to  future  ages  his  merit  and 
accomplifhments.  If  any  of  thefe  people  die  in  the 
fummer,  at  a  diftance  from  the  burying-ground, 
and  they  find  it  impofTible  to  remove  the  body  before 
it  putrefies,  they  burn  the  ftefri  from  the  bones,  and 
preferving  the  latter,  bury  them  in  the  manner  de- 
fcribed. 

As  the  Indians  believe  that  the  fouls  of  the  deceaf- 
cd  employ  themfelves  in  the  fame  manner  in  the 
country  of  fpirits,  as  they  did  on  earth,  that  they 
acquire  their  food  by  hunting,  and  have  there,  alio, 


264  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

enemies  to  contend  with,  they  take  care  that  they 
do  not  enter  thofe  regions  defencelefs  and  unprovi- 
ded :  they  confequently  bury  with  them  their  bows, 
their  arrows,  and  all  the  other  weapons  ufed  either 
in  hunting  or  war.  As  they  doubt  not  but  they  will 
likewife  have  occafion  both  for  the  neceffaries  of 
life,  and  thofe  things  they  efteem  as  ornaments,  they 
ufually  depofit  i-n  their  tombs  fuch  fkins  or  fluffs  as 
they  commonly  made  their  garments  of,  domeftic 
ur.enfils,  and  paint  for  ornamenting  their  perfons. 

The  near  relations  of  the  deceafed  lament  his  lofs 
with  an  appearance  of  great  forrow  and  anguifh  -, 
they  weep  and  howl,  and  make  ufe  of  many  contor- 
tions, as  they  fit  in  the  hut  or  tent  around  the  body, 
when  the  intervals  between  the  praifes  of  the  chiefs 
will  permit. 

One  formality  in  mourning  for  the  dead  among 
the  Naudoweffies  is  very  different  from  any  mode  I 
obferved  in  the  other  nations  through  which  I-paffed. 
The  men,  to  fhew  how  great  their  forrow  is,  pierce 
the  flefh  of  their  arms,  above  the  elbows,  with  ar- 
rows •>  the  fears  of  which  I  could  perceive  on  thofe 
of  every  rank,  in  a  greater  or  lefs  degree ;  and  the 
women  cut  and  gafh  their  legs  with  fharp  broken 
flints,  till  the  blood  flows  very  plentifully. 

Whilft  I  remained  amongfl  them,  a  couple  whofe 
tents  was  adjacent  to  mine,  loft  a  fon  of  about  four 
years  of  age.  The  parents  were  fo  much  affected  at 
the  death  of  their  favorite  child,  that  they  purfued 
the  ufual  teftimonies  of  grief  with  fuch  uncommon 
rigor,  as  through  the  weight  of  forrow  and  lofs  of 
blood,  to  occafion  the  death  of  the  father.  The 
woman  who  had  hitherto  been  inconfolable,  no 
fooner  faw  her  hufband  expire,  than  fhe  dried  up  her 
tears,  and  appeared  cheerful  and  refigned. 


CARVER'S    T  R  A  V  fe  L  2.  265 

As  I  knew  not  how  to  account  for  fo  extraordi- 
nary a  tranfition,  I  took  an  opportunity  to  afk  her 
the  reafon  of  it ;  telling  her  at  the  fame  time,  that  I 
fhould  have  imagined  the  lofs  of  her  hufband  would 
rather  have  occasioned  an  increafe  of  grief,  than  fuch 
a  fudden  diminution  of  it. 

She  informed  me,  that  as  the  child  was  fo  young 
when  it  died,  and  unable  to  fupport  itfelf  in  the 
country  of  fpirits,  both  fhe  and  her  hufband  had 
been  apprehenfive  that  its  fituation  would  be  far  from 
happy ;  but  no  fooner  did  fhe  behold  its  father  de- 
part for  the  fame  place,  who  not  only  loved  the 
child  with  the  tendered  affection^  but  v/as  a  good 
hunter*  and  would  be  able  to  provide  plentifully  for 
its  fupport,  than  fhe  ceafed  to  mourn.  She  added, 
that  fhe  now  faw  no  reafon  to  continue  her  tears,  as 
the  child  on  whom  fhe  doted,  was  happy  under  the 
.care  and  protection  of  a  fond  father,  and  fhe  had 
only  one  wifh  that  remained  ungratified,  which  was 
that  of  being  herfelf  with  them. 

Expreflions  fo  replete  with  unaffected  tendernef;; 
-and  fentiments  that  would  have  done  honour  to  a 
Roman  matron,  made  an  impreflion  on  my  mind 
greatly  in  favor  of  the  people  to  whom  fhe  belonged, 
and  tended  not  a  little  to  counteract  the  prejudices  I 
had  hitherto  entertained,  in  common  with  every 
other  traveller,  of  Indian  infenfibility  and  want  of 
parental  tendernefs. 

Her  fubfequent  conduct  confirmed  the  favorable 
opinion  I  hadjuft  imbibed 3  and  convinced  trie,  that, 
notwithftanding  this  apparent  fufpeniion  of  her  grief, 
fome  particles  of  that  reluctance,  to  be  feparated 
from  a  beloved  relation,  which  is  implanted  either 
by  nature   or  cuftom   in  every  human   heart,  ftiii 

L  I 


z66  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

lurked  in  hers,  I  obferved  that  fhe  went  almoft 
every  evening  to  the  foot  of  the  tree,  oh  a  branch 
of  which  the  bodies  of  her  hulband  and  child  were 
laid,  and  after  cutting  off  a  lock  of  her  hair,  and 
throwing  it  on  the  ground,  in  a  plaintive,  melancholy 
long  bemoaned  its  fate.  A  recapitulation  of  the 
actions  he  might  have  performed,  had  his  little  life 
been  fpared,  appeared  to  be  her  favorite  theme  j 
and  whilit  fhe  foretold  the  fame  that  would  have  at- 
tended an  imitation  of  his  father's  virtues,  her  grief 
feemed  to  be  fufpended  : — '- — 

cc  If  thou  hadfi  continued  with  us,  my  dear  Son/* 
would  fhe  cry,  "  how  well  would  the  bow  have  be- 
rc  ccme  thy  hand,  and  how  fatal  would  thy  arrows 
*c  have  proved  to  the  enemies  of  our  bands.  Thou 
<c  wouldd  often  have  drank  their  blood,  and  eaten 
cc  their  flefh,  and  numerous  flaves  would  have  re- 
cc  warded  thy  toils.  With  a  nervous  arm  wouldd 
'"  thou  have  feized  the  wounded  buffaloe,  or  have 
"  combated  the  fury  of  the  enraged  bear.  Thoii 
cc  wouldd  have  overtaken  the  flying  elk,  and  have 
tf  kept  pace  on  the  mountain's  brow  wTith  the  flcet- 
"  eft  deer.  What  feats  mighteft  thou  net  have  per- 
cc  formed,  hadft  thou  ftaid  among  us  till  age  had 
tc  given  thee  ftrength,  and  thy  father  had  indrufted 
<l  thee  in  every  Incian  accomplimment !"  In  terms 
like  thefe  did  this  untutored  lavage  bewail  the  lofs 
cf  her  ion,  and  frequently  wrculd  fhe  pals  the  greateft 
part  of  the  night  in  the  affectionate  employ. 

The  Indians  in  general  are  very  drift  in  the  ob- 
fervance  of  their  laws  relative  to  mourning  for  their 
dead.  In  fome  nations  they  cut  off  their  hair,  blacken 
their  faces,  and  fit  in  an  erect  podure,  with  their 
heads  clofefy  covered,  and  depriving  themfelves  of 
every  p  eafurei  This  feverity  is  Continued  for  fc- 
veral  months,  and  with  fome  relaxations  the  appear* 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS,  ify 

ance  is  ibmetimes  kept  up  for  feveral  years.  I  was 
told  that  when  the  Naudoweflles  recollected  any  in- 
cidents of  the  lives  of  their  deceafed  relations.,  even, 
after  an  interval  of  ten  years,  they  would  howl  fo  as 
to  be  heard  at  a  great  diflance.  They  would  fome- 
times  continue  this  proof  of  refpect  and  affection  for 
feveral  hours  ;  and  if  it  happened  that  the  thought 
occurred,  and  the  noife  was  begun  towards  the  even- 
ing, thofe  of  their  tribe  who  are  at  hand  would  join 
with  t;hem. 


C  A  R  V  E  K's     T  R  AJV  E  L  S. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


i?  Character  of  the  Indians., 


'J[  HE  character  of  the  Indians,  like  that  of 
plher" uncivilized  nations,  is  compoied  of  a  mixture 
of  ferocity  and  gentlenefs.  They  are  at  once  guided 
by  paiiions  and  appetites,  which  they  hold  in  com- 
mon with  the  rierceft  beads  that  inhabit  their  woods, 
and  are  pofTeffed  of  virtues  which  do  honour  to  hu- 
man nature. 

In  the  following  eftimate  I  mail  endeavor  to  forget 
on  the  one  hand  the  prejudices  of  Europeans,  who 
ufually  annex  to  the  word  Indian,  epithets  that  are 
difgraceiul  to  human  nature,  and  who  view  them  in 
no  other  light  than  as  favages  and  cannibals;  whilft 
with  equal  care  I  avoid  any  partiality  towards  them, 
as  fome  muft  naturally  arile  from  the  favorable  re- 
ception I  met  with  during  my  flay  among  them. 

At  the  fame  time  I  mall  confine  my  remarks  to  the 
nations  inhabiting  only  the  weflern  regions,  fuch  as 
the  NaudoweiTies,  the  Ottagaumies,  the  Chipeways, 
tht  Winnebagoes,  and  the  Saukies ,  for  as  throughout 
that  cfiverfity  of  climates,  the  extenfive  continent  of 
America  is   cempofed  of,  there  "are  people  of  dirre- 


TRAVELS.  202 

ient  difpafitions  and  various  characters*  it  would  be 
incompatible  with  my  prefent  undertaking  to  treat 
of  all  thefe,  and  to  give  a  general  view  of  them  as  a 
conjunctive  body. 

That  the  Indians  are  of  a  cruel,  revengeful,  in- 
exorable difpofition,  that  they  will  watch  whole  days 
unmindful  of  the  calls  of  nature,  and  make  their 
way  through  pathlefs,  and  almoft  unbounded  woods, 
fubfifting  only  on  the  fcanty  produce  of  them,  to 
purfue  and  revenge  themfelves  of  an  enemy  \  that 
they  hear  unmoved  the  piercing  cries  of  fuch  as 
unhappih/  fall  into  their  hands,  and  receive  a  diabo- 
lical pieaiure  from  the  tortures  they  inflict  on  their 
prifoners,  I  readily  grant;  but  let  us  look  on  the  re- 
verfe  of  this  terrifying  picture,  and  we  fhall  find 
them  temperate  both  in  their  diet  and  potations  (it 
mud  be  remembered  that  I  fpeak  of  thofe  tribes 
who  have  little  communication  with  Europeans)  that 
they  withftand,  with  unexampled  patience,  the  at- 
tacks of  hunger,  or  the  inclemency  of  the  feafons, 
and  efteem  the  gratification  of  their  appetites  but 
as  a  fecondary  confederation. 

\Ve  mail  likewife  fee  them  focial  and  humane  to 
thofe  whom  they  confider  as  their  friends,  and  even 
to  their  adopted  enemies  ;  and  ready  to  partake 
with  them  of  the  lad  model,  or  to  rifk  their  lives 
in  their  defence. 

In  contradiction  to  the  report  of  many  other  tra- 
vellers all  of  which  have  been  tinctured  with  pre- 
judice, I  can  affert,  that  notwithstanding  the  appa- 
rent indifference  with  which  an  Indian  meets  his 
wife  and  children  after  a  long  abfence,  an  indiffe- 
rence proceeding  rather  from  cuftom  than  infenfibi- 
iity,  he  is  not  unmindful  of  the  claims  either  of  con- 
nubial or  parental  tenderneis  -,  the  little  flory  I  have 


C  A  R  V  E  R's    TRAVELS. 


Z?Ql 


introduced' in  the  preceding  chapter,  of  the  Naudo- 
weffie  woman  lamenting  her  child,  and  the  immature 
death  of  the  father,  will  elucidate  this  point,  and 
enforce  the  ailrrtion  much  better  than  the  mod  flu- 
died  arguments  I  can  make  ufe  of. 

Accuftomed  from  their  youth  to  innumerable 
hardfnips,  they  foon  become  fuperior  to  a  fenfe  of 
danger,  or  the  dread  of  death  ;  and  their  fortitude, 
implanted  by  nature,  and  nurtured  by  example,  by 
precept  and  accident,  never  experiences  a  moment's 
allay. 

Though  Hothful  and  inactive  whilft  their  (lore  of 
provifions  remains  unexhaufted,  and  their  foes  are  at 
a  diftance,  they  are  indefatigable  and  perfevering 
In  purfuit  of  their  game,  or  in  circumventing  their 
enemies. 

If  they  are  artful  and  defigning,  and  ready  to  take 
every  advantage,  if  they  are  cool  and  deliberate  in- 
their  councils,  and  cautious  in  the  extreme  either  of 
difcovering  their  fcntiments,  or  of  revealing  a  fecret, 
they  might  at  the  fame  time  boaft  of  polTelTing  qua- 
lifications of  a  more  animated  nature,  of  the  faga- 
city  of  a  hound,  the  penetrating  fight  of  a  lynx, 
the  cunning  of  the  fox,  the  agility  of  a  bounding 
roe,  and  the  unconquerable  riercenefs  of  the  tiger. 

In  their  public  characters,  as  forming  part  of  a 
community,  they  poiTcfs  an  attachment  for  that  band 
to  which  they  belong,  unknown  to  the  inbabitants 
of  any  other  country.  They  combine,  as  if  they  were 
actuated  only  by  one  foul,  againft  the  enemies  of 
their  nation,  and  banifn  from  their  minds  every 
confederation  oppofed  to  this. 


CARVE  R's      TRAVELS.  27! 

They  confuk  without  unneceffary  oppofition,  or 
without  giving  way  to  the  excitements  of  envy  or 
■ambition,  on  the  measures  neceflary  to  be  purfued 
for  the  deftrudtion  of  thofe  who  have  drawn  on  them- 
felves  their  difpltafure.  No  fclfifh  views  ever  in- 
fluence their  advice,  or  obftruct  their  confiscati- 
ons. Nor  is  it  in  the  power  of  bribes  or  threats  to 
diminifh.  the  love  they  bear  their  country. 

The  honor  of  their  tribe,  and  the  welfare  of  their 
nation,  is  the  firft  and  mod  predominant  emotion 
of  their  hearts ;  and  from  hence  proceed  in  a  great 
meafure  all  their  virtues  and  their  vices.  Actuated 
by  this,  they  brave  every  danger,  endure  the  moil 
exquifite  torments,  and  expire  triumphing  in  their 
fortitude,  not  as  a  perfonal  qualification,  but  as  a 
national  characteriftic. 

From  thefe  alfo  flow  that  infatiable  revenge  to- 
wards thofe  with  whom  they  are  at  war,  and  all  the 
confequent  horrors  that  difgrace  their  name.  Their 
uncultivated  mind  being  incapable  of  judging  of 
the  propriety  of  an  action,  in  oppofition  to  their 
paflions,  which  are  totally  infenfible  to  the  controls 
of  reafon  or  humanity,  they  know  not  how  to  keep 
their  fury  within  any  bounds,  and  confequently  that 
courage  and  refclurion,  which  would  otherwife  do 
them  honor,  degenerates  into  a  favage  ferocity. 

But  this  fhort  dififertation  muft  fuffice:  the  limits 
of  my  work  will  not  permit  me  to  treat  the  fubject 
more  copioufly,  or  to  puriue  it  with  a  logical  regu- 
larity. The  obfcrvations  already  made  by  my  rea- 
ders on  the  preceding  pages,  will,  I  truft,  render  it 
unnecefTary;  as  by  them  they  will  be  enabled  to  form 
a  tolerably  juft  idea  of  the  people  I  have  been  def- 
erring. Experience  teaches,  that  anecdotes,  and 
relations  of  particular  events,  however  trifling  they 


h?2  CARVER'S       TRAVELS. 

+ 

might  appear,  enable  us  to  form  a  truer  judgment 
of  the  manners  and  cuftoms  of  a  people,  and  are 
much  more  declaratory  of  their  real  date,  than  the 
mod  ftudied  and  elaborate  difquifttion^  without  thefe 
aids, 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  j>73 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


€)/  their  Language,  Hieroglyphics,  &c. 


JL  HE  principal  languages  of  the  natives  of 
North-America  may  be  divided  into  four  claries,  as 
they  confift  of  fuch  as  are  made  ufe  of  by  the  nations 
of  the  Iroquois  towards  the  eaftern  parts  of  it,  the 
Chipeways  or  Algonkins  to  the  north-weft,  the 
Naudoweflies  to  the  weft,  and  the  Cherokees,  Chic- 
kafaws,  &c.  to  the  fouth.  One  or  other  of  thefe 
four  are  ufed  by  all  the  Indians  who  inhabit  the  parts 
that  lie  between  the  coaft  of  Labrador  north,  the 
Floridas  fouth,  the  Atlantic  Ocean  eaft,  and,  as 
far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  difcoveries  hitherto 
made,  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  well. 

But  of  all  thefe,  the  Chipeway  tongue  appears 
to  be  the  moft  prevailing;  it  being  held  in  fuch 
efteem,  that  the  chiefs  of  every  tribe,  dwelling  about 
the  great  lakes,  or  to  the  well  ward  of  thefe  on  the 
banks  of  the  Miflrffippi,  with  thofe  as  far  fouth  as 
the  Ohio,  and  as  far  north  as  Hudfon's  Bay,  con- 
fiding of  more  than  thirty  different  tribes,  fpeak 
this  language  alone  in  their, councils,  notwithttand- 
ing  each  has  a  peculiar  one  of  their  own. 
M  m 


2-4  CARVER's     TRAVEL  S. 

It  will  probably  in  time  become  univerfal  among 
all  the  Indian  nations,  as  none  of  them  attempt  to 
make  excursions  to  any  great  diftance,  or  are  con- 
fide red  as  qualified  to  carry  on  any  negotiation  with 
a  diftant  band,  unlefs  they  have  acquired  the  Chipe- 
way tongue. 

At  preient,  be fides  the  Chipeways,  to  whom  it 
is  natural,  the  Ottawaws,  Saukies,  the  Ottagau- 
mies,  the  Kiilii  :  .  :;  ,  the  Nipegons,  the  bands 
about  Lake  Le  Pluye,  and  the  remains  of  the  Al- 
gonkins,  or  Gens  de  Terre,  all  converie  in  it,  with 
fome  little  variation  of  dialect;  but  whether  it  be 
natural  to  thofc  nations,  or  acquired,  I  was  not 
able  to  difcover.  I  am  however  of  opinion  that  the 
barbarous  and  uncouth  dialect  of  the  Winnebagoes, 
the  Menomonies,  and  many  other  tribes,  will  be- 
come in  time  totally  extinct,  and  this  be  adopted 
in  its  (lead. 

The  Chipeway  tongue  is  not  encumbered  with 
any  unnecerlary  tones  or  accents,  neither  are  there 
any  words  in  it  that  are  fuperfluous;  it  is  alfo  eafy 
to  pronounce,  and  much  more  copious  than  any 
other  Indian  language. 

As  the  Indians  are  unacquainted  with  the  polite 
arts,  or  with  the  fciences,  and  as  they  are  lirangers 
to  ceremony,  or  compliment,  they  neither  have  nor 
need  an  infinity  of  words  wherewith  to  embellifli 
iheir  difcourie.  Plain  and  unpolifhed  in  their  man- 
ners, they  only  make  ufe  of  fuch  as  ferve  to  deno- 
minate the  necefTaries  or  conveniences  of  life,  and 
to  exprefs  their  wants,  which  in  aftate  of  nature  can 
be  but  few. 

I  have  annexed  hereto  a  fhort  vocabulary  of  the 
Chipeway  language,  and  another  of  that  of  the  Nau- 


CARVER':      TRAVELS.  iVj 

dowefiies,  but  am  not  able   to   reduce  them   to  the 
rules  of  grammar. 

The  latter  is  fpoken  in  a  foft  accent,  without  any 
guttural  founds,  fo  that  it  may  be  learnt  with  faci- 
lity, and  is  not  difficult  eicher  to  be  pronounced  or 
written.  It  is  nearly  as  copious  and  expreifive  as 
the  Chipeway  tongue,  and  is  the  mo  it  prevailing 
language  of  any  en  the  weftern  banks  of  the  Mif- 
fifTippij  being  in  ufe,  according  to  their  account 
among  all  the  nations  that  lie  to  the  north  of  the 
Mefibrie,  and  extend  as  far  weft  as  the  mores  of  flic- 
Pacific  Ocean. 

As  the  Indians  are  not  acquainted  with  letters, 
it  is  very  difficult  to  convey  with  precifion  the  exact 
found  of  their  words;  I  have  however  endeavoured 
to  write  them  as  near  to  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  expreffed,  as  ftich  an  uncertain  mode  will  ad- 
mit of. 

Although  the  Indians  cannot  communicate  their 
ideas  by  writing,  yet  they  form  certain  hieroglyphics, 
which,  in  fome  meafure,  ferve  to  perpetuate  any 
extraordinary  tranfaction,  or  uncommon  even:. 
Thus  when  they  are  on  their  excurfions,  and  either 
intend  to  proceed,  or  have  been  on  any  remarkable 
enterprife,  they  peel  the  bark  from  the  trees  which 
lie  in  their  way,  to  give  intelligence  to  thofe  parties 
that  happen  to  be  at  a  diilance,  of  the  path  they 
muft  purfue  to  overtake  them. 

The  following  inftance  will  convey  a  more  perfect 
idea  of  the  methods  they  make  ufe  of  on  this  occa- 
fion,  than  any  exprefiions  I  can  frame. 

"When  I  left  the  Mimflippi,  and  proceeded  up  the 
Chipeway  River,  in  my  way  to  Lake  Superior,  as 


2/,o  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

related  in  my  Journal,  my  guide,  who  was  a  chief 
of  the  Chipeways  that  dwell  en  the  Ottawaw  Lake, 
near  the  heads  of  the  river  we  had  juft  entered, 
fearing  that  fome  parties  of  the  Naudoweffies,  with 
whom  his  nation  are  perpetuaUy  at  war,  might  ac- 
cidentally fall  in  with  us,  and  before  they  were  ap- 
prifed  of  my  being  in  company,  do  us  fome  mifchief, 
he  took  the  following  fteps : 

He  peeled  the  bark  from  a  large  tree,  near  the 
entrance  of  a  river,  and  with  wood-coal,  mixed  with 
bear's  greafe,  their  ufual  fubilitute  for  ink,  made  in 
an  uncouth,  but  expreffive  manner,  the  figure  of 
th£  town  of  the  Ottagaunaies.  He  then  formed  to 
the  left  a  man  dreiTed  in  fkins,  by  which  he  intended 
to  reprefent  a  Naudoweffie,  with  a  line  drawn  from 
his  mouth  to  that  of  a  deer,  the  fymbol  of  the  Chi- 
peways. After  this  he  depictured  ftill  further  to  the 
left  a  canoe  as  proceeding  up  the  river,  in  which  he 
placed  a  man  fitting  with  a  hat  on;  this  figure  was 
defigned  to  reprefent  an  Engiifhman,  cr  rnyfelf, 
and  my  Frenchman  was  drawn  with  a  handkerchief 
tied  round  his  head,  and  rowing  the  canoe ;  to  thefe 
he  added  feveral  other  fignificant  emblems,  among 
which  the  Pipe  of  Peace  appeared  painted  on  the 
prow  of  the  canoe. 

The  meaning  he  intended  to  convey  to  the  Nau- 
doweiTies,  and  which  I  doubt  not  appeared  perfectly 
intelligible  to  them,  was,  that  one  of  the  Chipeway 
chiefs  had  received  a  fpeech  from  fome  NaudoweiTie 
chiefs,  at  the  town  cfthe  Ottagaumies,  defiring  him 
to  conduct  the  Engiifhman,  who  had  lately  been 
among  them,  up  the  Chipeway  river;  and  that  they 
thereby  required,  that  the  Chipeway,  notwithstand- 
ing he  was  an  avowed  enemy,  fhould  not  be  mo- 
lefted  by  them  on  his  palTage,  as  he  had  the  care  of 
a  perfon  whom  they  efteemed  as  one  of  their  nation. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


277 


Some  authors  have  pretended  that  the  Indians  have 
armorial  bearings,  which  they  blazon  with  great 
exactnefs,  and  which  diftinguifTi  one  nation  from 
another;  but  I  never  could  obferve  any  other  arms 
among  them  than  the  fymbols  already  defenbed. 


w 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 


A  fieri   Vocabulary   of  the    Chipeway 
Language. 


N.  B.    This  people  do  not  make  ufe  either  of  the 
conibnants  F,  or  V* 


XiLBOVE 

Abandon 

Spimink 
Packitcn 

Admirable 

Pilawah 

Afterwards 

Mipidach 

All 

Kokinum 

Always 

Amifs 

Arrive 

Kokali 

Napitch 

Takouchin 

Axe 

Afhes 

Affift 

B. 

Ball 

Agacwet 

Pingoe 

Mawinewah 

Alewin 

Bag,  or  tobacco-pouch 
Barrel 

Cafpetawgan 
Owentowgan 

Beat 

Pakhite 

Bear 

Mackwah 

Bear,  a  young  one 
Beaver 

Makon 
Amik 

Beaver's  fkin 
Be,  or  to  be 

Apiminique 
Tapaie 

CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 


279 


Beard 

Mifchitcn 

Becaufc 

Mewinch 

Believe 

Tilerimah 

Belly 

Mijliemout 

Black 

Markaute 

Blood 

Mi/kow 

Body 

Toe 

Bottle 

Shijhego 

Brother 

Neconnis 

Brandy  or  Rum 

Scuttawawbah 

Bread 

Pabaufhigan 

Breech 

Mifcoufah 

Breeches 

Kipokitie  Koufah 

Buck 

Wafketch 

C. 

Canoe 

Cheman 

Call 

Tejhenskaw 

Chief,  a 

Okemaw 

Carry 

Teton 

Child  or  Children 

Bobelojhin 

Coat 

Capotewian 

Cold,  I  am 

Kekalch 

Come  on 

Moppa 

Come  to 

Pemotcha 

Comrade 

Neechee 

Concerned 

Tallemijfi 

Corn 

Melomin 

Covering,  or  a  Blanket 

Wawbewion 

Country 

Endawlawkeen 

Courage 

Tagwawmiffi 

Cup 

Olawgan 

D. 

Dance 

Nemeh 

Dart 

Shejhikwee 

So                GARVER's 

TRAVELS. 

Die,  to 

Nip 

Difh 

Mackoan 

Dog 

Alim 

Dead 

Neepo 

Devil  cr  evil  Spirit 

Matcho-ManijQU 

Dog,  a  little  one 

Alemon 

Done,  it  is  done 

Shiah 

Do 

Tojhiton 

Dcubtlefs 

Ontclatoubah 

Drcfs  the  kettle 

Poutwah 

Drink 

Minikwah 

Drunken 

Ouifquiba 

Duck 

Chickbip 

E. 

Earth 

Aukwin 

Eat 

Owiffine 

Each 

Papegik 

Englifh 

Sagaunofb 

Enough 

Mimilic 

Equal,  or  alike 

TawbifcGiich 

Efteem 

Nawpetelimaw 

Eyes 

Wifkinkhte 

F. 

Faft 

Waliebic 

Fall 

Ponkifin 

Far  off 

JVatfaw 

Fat 

Pimmittee 

Friend 

Niconnis 

Father 

Noofab 

Few,  or  little 

Maungis 

Fatigued 

TaukwiJJi 

Field  fown 

KittegaumU 

Fire 

Scutta 

CARVER's    TRAVELS. 


2S1 


Fire,  to  flrike 

Find 

Fifh 

Fork 

Formerly 

Fort 

Forward 

French 

Freeze,  to 

Freezes  hard 

Full 

Fufee  or  Gun 


Scutecke 

NantoMHowaw 

Kickon 

Naffawokwot 

Pirwego 

Wakaigcn 

Ncpawink 

JNechtegooJh 

Kiffin 

JCiffin  Magat 

Moujkinet 

Pajkeffigan 


God,  or  the  Great  Spirit 
Go  by  water 
Girl 
Give 

Glafs,  a  mirror 
Good 

Good  for  nothing 
Govern 

General,  or  Comman-  7 
der  in  Chief  3 

Grapes 
Great 
Greedy 
Guts 


Kitchi  Manitcn 
Pimmifcaw 

Jeckwaffm 

Milla-zv 

Wawberrm 

Cawlatch 

Malatal 

Tibarimaw 

Kitchi  Okimaw 

Simauganijh 

Shoamiu 

Manatou 

Sawfawkiffi 

Olazvbijh 


H 


Hare 
Heart 
Hate 
Half 


Nn 


jVawpocs 

Michezvah 

Sbingaurima&> 

Nozvbal 


i$2 


CARVER's 

TRAVELS. 

Hair j  human 

Liffis 

Hair  of  beads 

Pewal 

Handfome 

Camginne 

Have 

Tandaulaw 

Head 

Onfieccuan 

Heaven 

Speminkakwiti 

Herb 

Mejajk 

Here 

Aconda 

Hidden 

Kemouch 

Home 

Entayent 

Honor 

MackawalaW 

Hot 

Akejkvtta 

How 

Tawne 

How  many- 

Tawnemilik 

Hunt 

Kewajfa 

Hut,  or  Houfe 

Wig  IVaum 

Indians 

Iron 

Ifland 

Immediately 

Indian  Corn 

Intirely 

Impoftor 

It  might  be  fo 


IJkinawbah 
Pewawbick 
yiinis 
Webatch   , 
hlittawmin 
Nawp  tcb 
Mawlswtijfit 
Taiuneendo 


K 

Kettle 

King,  or  Chief 

Keep 

Knife 

Knife  that  is  crooked 

Knew 


Ackikons 

Okemaw 

Ganwerimaix, 

Mockoman 

CoGtazvgon 

Thickeremaw 


C  A  R  V  E  R's    TRAVELS. 


»»J 


I 


Lake 

Kitchigawmink 

Laugh 

Pawpi 

Lazy 

Kitttimi 

Lame 

Kikekate 

Leave 

Pockiton 

Letter 

Niazvjlgnaugon 

Life 

Nouchirhouin 

Love 

Saukie 

Long  fince 

Shawjhia 

Land  Carriage 

Cappatawgon 

Lofe 

Hackilaugue 

Lie  down 

fVeepemaw 

Little 

F/autejneen 

M 

Meat 

Weas 

Much 

NiObilaiv 

Man 

Allijfinape 

March,  to  go 

Pimmoujfie 

Marry 

Weewin 

Medicine 

Maftikic 

Merchandife 

Alckccbigon 

Moon 

Debicot 

Mortar  to  pound  in. 

Pcutawgon 

Male 

Nape 

Miftrefs 

JSferemoufm 

N 


Needle 

Near 


Shavjbonkin 
Pevritch 


284 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


Nation 
Never 
Night 

No 
Nofe 

Nothing 

Not  yet 

Not  at  all 

Nought,  good  for  nothin 


Irinee 

Cawikkaw 

Bebicct 

Kczv 

Tech 

Kakego 

Kaivmi/chi 

Kfgutch 

Malatat 


O 


Old 
Otter 

Other 


Kau-wefliine 

Nikkik 

Coutack 


Pipe 

Poagcn 

Part,  what  part 

Tawnapei 

Play 

Packeigo 

Powder,  gun,  or  duft 

Pingo 

Peace,  to  make 

Pecacotiche 

Pray 

Tawlaimia 

Proper 

Sawfega 

Presently 

Webatch 

Peninfula 

Minnijfm 

Quick 


CL 


R 


Regard 
Red 
Refolve 
Relation 


Kegotck 

JVawbomo 
Mi/cow 
Tibelindon 
Towwemaw 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


RefpecT: 
Rain 
Robe 
River 
Run,  to 


Tawbawmica 

Kimmewan 

Ockolaw 

Sippim 

Pitcbebct 


*i 


Sad 

Sail 

Sack,  or  Bag 

Sea,  or  large  Lake 

Shoes 

Ship,  or  large  Canoe 

Sorry 

Spirit 

Spoon 

Star 

Steal 

Stockings 

Strong 

Sturgeon 

Sun 

Sword 

Surprifing 

See 

Since 

Shirt 

Slave 

Sleep 

Sit  down 


ie 


vralimij]ie 

Pemifcaw 

Majkimot 

Agankitchiga-wminh 

Maukiffin 

Kitchi  Ch>?man 

Nifcottiffie 

Manitou 

Mickwoh 


Kemautin 

Mittaus 

Majhkauwah 

Lawmack 

Kiffis 

Simaugan 

Etwab,  Etwah 

JVawbemo 

Mapedoh 

Papawkwean 

Wackan 

Nippee 

Mintepi?;. 


Take 
Teeth 

That 


Emaundah 

Tibbit 

■Mazvbab 


it$ 


CARVER's      TRAVELS, 


There 

Watjaudebi 

This 

Maundah 

Truly 

Kikit 

Together 

Mawmawwee 

Tobacco 

Scmau 

Tongue 

Outcn 

Tired 

Tczvkcnjie 

Too  little 

Ofciummangis 

Too  much 

OJfaune 

Thank  ycft 

Megwatch 

To-morrow 

JVawbunk 

To-morrow  the  day  after 

Qufwa&bUtok 

W 

Warriors 

Semauganaujb 

Water 

Nebbi 

WTar 

Nantaubaula?} 

Way 

Mickon 

Well  then  ! 

Tauneendab ! 

What  is  that  ? 

JVawwewin  ? 

What  now  ? 

Quagonic  ? 

Whence 

Taunippi 

Where 

Tab 

White 

Waube 

Who  is  there  r 

ghiagonie  yiaubab 

Wind 

Loutin 

Winter 

Pepoun 

Woman 

Icfcuee 

Wood 

yiittic 

Wolf 

Mawbingon 

Y 

Yefterday 

Petcbilawgp 

Yet 

Mtrmewatcb 

Young 

JVifconnekiffi 

Yellow 

Wazzo 

GARVER's     TRAVELS.  <2f 

The  Numerical  Terms  of  the  Chipeways. 


One 

Two 

Three 

Four 

Five 

Six 

Seven 

Eight 

Nine 

Ten 

Eleven 

Twenty 

T  hirty 

Forty 

Fifty 

Sixty 

Seventy 

Eighty 

Ninety 

Hundred 

Thoufapd 


Pafiik 
Ninch 
NiJpM 
Neau 
Narad 

Ningcutw[ffcu 
Nihthcwajjbu 
Nifflwajfou 
Shongaffcu 
Mittaujcu 
Mittauffcu  Pajhik 
Nimhtawnaw 
Niffcu  Mittawnaw 
Neau  Mittawnaw 
Naran  Mittawnaw 
Ningcutwajfcu  Mit-  7 
tawnaw  3 

tNintbcwaffiu  Mit-  7 
tawnaw  3 

Nijjcwajfcu      Mit-  7 
tawnaw  3 

Shongaffcu  Mitt  aw-  7 
naw  3 

Mittauffcu  Mittaw-  7 
na-w  3 

Mittauffcw  Mitta-1 
uffcu  Mit  tawnaw  ) 


288 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


A  fhort  Vocabulary  of  the  Naudowefiie 
Language. 


Axe 


Afhpaw 


B 


Beaver 
Buffalo 
Bad 
Broach 
Bear,  a 


Chawbah 

Tawtongo 

Sbejah 

Muzahootco 

Wahkonjhejah 


Canoe 
Cold 

Child,  a  Male 
Child,  a  Female 
Come  here 


Waahtoh 
Wlechuetab 
Wechoakfeh 
Whacheekfeb 

Acccoyouiyare 


D 


Dead 
Deer 

Dog 


Negujb 

Tohinjob 

Shungujk 


Eat 

Ears 


Ecbawmena-ia 
Nookab 


CARVER'S  TRAVELS. 


289 


Eyes 
Evil 

EJhtike 
Shejah 

F 

Fire 

Paahtah 

Father 

Otah 

Frenchman 
Falls  of  Water 

Neehteegujh 
O-wah  Menah 

Friend 

Kitchi-wah 

G 

Good 

Give 

Go  away 

God,  or  the  Great  Spirit 

Wojhtah 
Accooyeh 
Accoowah 
Wakon 

Gun 

Muzah  JVakon 

Great 
Gold 

Tongo 
Muzahafn 

H 

Hear 

Horfe 

Home,  or  domeftic 

Nookijhon 
Shuetongd 
Shuah 

Houfe 

Teebee 

Heaven 
I 
Iron 

Wojhtah  Teebee 

Muzah 

I,  or  me 

Meoh 

K 

King,  or  Chief 

Otah 

Kill 

Negufhtaugaw 

Oo 


290 


CARVER  >s    TRAVELS. 


Little 
Long 
Lake 
Love 


Jeftiu 
Tongoom 
Tongo  Meneh 
Ehwahmeah 


M 


Much 

More 

Moon 

Mouth 

Medal 

Mine 

Milk 


Otah 

Otenmv 

Oweeh 

Eeh 

Muzab  Otah 

yicwah 

Etfawbob 


N 


No 
Near 


Heyab 
Jeeftina* 


O 


Oh! 


Hopiniyabief. 


Pipe 

Pipe  of  Peace 


Sbanuapaw 
Sbanuapaw  Waken 


R 


Rain 

Ring 
Round 


O-wab  Meneb 

Muzamcbupah 

Cbupab 


CARVER'S      TRAVEL  S. 


ajU 


Smoke 

Shaweah 

Salt  Water 

Mems  G)ueaJ? 

See,  to 

EJhta-w 

Sleep 

EJhteemo 

Snake 

Omlijhcavj 

Sun 

Paabtab 

Spirit 

Wakon 

Spirituous  Liquors 

Wleneh  Wakon 

Snow 

Sinnee 

Surprifing 

Hopiniayare 

Silver 

"Muzabam 

Tobacco 
Talk 
Tree 
There 


Sbawfajfaw 
Owebchin 
Ocba-w 
Dacbe 


W 


Woman 

Winnokejah 

Wonderful 

Hopiniyare 

Water 

Wleneb 

What 

Tawgo 

Who  is  there  r 

Taivgodacbe  ? 

Wicked 

Heyabatcbta 

You 
Young 


Cbee 
Hawpawfta-m 


*g* 


CAfcVER's    TRAVELS. 


You  are  good 
You  are  a  Spirit 

You  are  my  good  friend 

No  good 


Wajhtah  Chee 
Waken  Chee 
Wajhtah  Kitchiwahl 
Chee  J 

Heyah  Wafotah 


The  Numerical  Terms  of  the  Naudoweflies, 


One 

Wonchaw 

Two 

Noompaw 

Three 

Yawmonee 

Four 

Toboh 

Five 

Sarwfruttee 

Six- 

Shawcoo 

Seven 

Shawcopee 

Eight 

Shahindchin 

Nine 

Nebochungancng 

Ten 

Wegochunganong 

Eleven 

Wegochunganong  Wonchaw 

Twenty- 

Wegochunganong  Nogmpa-jj 

Thirty 

Wegochunganong  Ya^monee 

Forty 

Wegochunganong  Toboh 

Fifty 

Wegochunganong  Sawbuttee 

Sixty 

Wegochungano7tg  Sha-wco 

Seventy 

Wegochunganong  Shawcopee 

Eighty 

Wegochunganong  Shahindchin 

Ninety 

Wegochunganong  Nebochungancng 

Hundred 

Opchng 

Thoufand 

Wegochunganong  Opohng 

To  this  fhort  vocabulary  of  the  Naudoweffie  lan- 
guage I  fhall  adjoin  a  fpecimen  of  the  manner  in 
which  they  unite  their  words.     I  have   chofen  for 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  293 

this  purpofe  a  fhort  fong,  which  they  fing,  with 
fome  kind  of  melody,  though  not  with  any  appear- 
ance of  pDetical  meafure,  when  they  fet  out  on 
their  hunting  expeditions;  and  have  given  as  near 
a  tranflation  as  the  difference  of  the  idioms  will 
permit. 

Meoh  accocwah  ejhta-w  paatah  negujhtawga-jj  fhejah 
menah.  Tongo  Wakon  meoh  -wojhta,  paatah  accocwah. 
Hopiniyahie  oweeh  accooyee  mechy  wofhta  pat  ah  otah  to- 
hinjch  meoh  teebee, 

I  will  rife  before  the  fun,  and  afcend  yonder  hill, 
to  fee  the  new  light  chafe  away  the  vapors,  and  dif- 
perfe  the  clouds.  Great  Spirit,  give  me  fuccefs. 
And  when  the  fun  is  gone,  lend  me,  oh  moon, 
light  furncient  to  guide  me  with  fafety  back  to  my 
rent  loaden  with  deer! 


*94  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


CHAPTER     XVIII 


Of  the  Beaftsy  Birds,  Fifhes,  Reptiles,  and  Infecls, 
-which  are  found  in  the  interior  Parts  of  North  - 
America. 


F  thefe  I  mall,  in  the  firft  place,  give  a 
catalogue,  and  afterwards  a  description  of  men  only 
as  are  either  peculiar  to  this  country,  or  which  differ 
in  feme  material  point  from  thofe  that  are  to  be  met 
with  in  other  realms. 


OF    THE     BEASTS. 

The  Tiger,  the  Bear,  Wolves,  Foxes,  Dogs, 
the  Cat  of  the  Mountain,  the  Wild  Cat,  the  Buffalo, 
the  Deer,  the  Elk,  the  Moofe,  the  Carraboo,  the 
Carcajou,  the  Skunk,  the  Porcupine,  the  Hedge- 
hog, the  Woodchuck,  the  Racoon,  the  Marten, 
the  Fiflicr,  the  Mufquafh,  Squirrels,  Hares,  Rab- 
bins, the  Mole,  the  Weafel,  the  Moufe,  the  Dor- 
moufcj  the  Beaver,  the  Otter,  the  Mink,  and 
Bats.   ' 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS,  295 

The  TIGER.  The  Tiger  of  America  refembles 
in  ihape  thofe  of  Africa  and  Afia,  but  is  confide- 
rably  fmaller.  Nor  does  it  appear  to  be  fo  fierce 
and  revenous  as  they  are.  The  colour  of  it  is  a  dark  - 
ifh  fallow,  and  it  is  entirely  free  from  fpots.  I  faw 
one  on  an  ifland  in  the  Chipeway  River,  of  which  I 
had  a  very  good  view,  as  it  was  at  no  great  diftance 
from  me.  It  fat  up  on  its  hinder  parts  like  a  dog ; 
and  did  not  feem  either  to  be  apprehenfive  of  ourap- 
proach,  or  to  difcover  any  ravenous  inclinations. 
It  is  however  very  feldom  to  be  met  with  in  this 
part  of  the  world. 

The  BEAR.  Bears  are  very  numerous  on  this 
continent,  but  more  particularly  fo  in  the  northern 
parts  of  it,  and  contribute  to  furnifh  both  food  and 
beds  for  almoft  every  Indian  nation.  Thofe  of 
America  differ  in  many  refpects  from  thofe  either  of 
Greenland  or  RufTia,  they  being  not  only  fomewhat 
fmaller,  but  timorous  and  inoffenfive,  unlefs  they 
are  pinched  by  hunger,  or  fmarting  from  a  wound. 
The  fight  of  a  man  terrifies  them  $  and  a  dog  will 
put  feveral  to  flight.  They  are  extremely  fond  of 
grapes,  and  will  climb  to  the  top  of  the  higheft  trees 
in  quell  of  them.  This  kind  of  food  renders  their 
flelh  exceffively  rich,  and  finely  flavored  -,  and  it  is 
confequently  perferred  by  the  Indians  and  traders  to 
that  of  any  other  animal.  The  fat  is  very  white, 
and  befides  being  fweet  and  wholefome,  ispofleiTed  of 
one  valuable  quality,  which  is,  that  it  never  cloys. 
The  inhabitants  of  thefe  parts  conftantly  anoint 
themfelves,  with  it,  and  to  its  efficacy  they  in  a  great 
meafure  owe  their  agility.  The  feafon  for  hunting 
the  bear  is  during  the  winter ;  when  they  take  up 
their  abode  in  hollow  trees,  or  make  themfelves 
dens  in  the  roots  of  thofe  that  are  blown  down,  the 
entrance  of  which  they  ftop  up  with  branches  of  fir 
that  lie   fcattered  about.     From  thefe  retreats,  it  is 


a$6  CAHVER's       TRAVELS. 

faid  they  itir  not  whilft  the  weather  continues  fevere, 
and  as  it  is  well  know  n  that  they  do  not  provide  them- 
felves  with  food,  they  are  fuppofed  to  be  enabled 
by  nature  to  fubfift  for  fome  months  without,  and 
during  this  time  to  continue  of  the  fame  bulk. 

The  WOLF.  The  wolves  of  North  America 
are  much  lefs  than  thofe  which  are  met  with  mother 
parrs  of  the  world.  They  have  however,  in  com- 
mon with  the  reft  of  their  fpecies,  a  wildnefs  irt 
their  looks,  and  a  fiercenefs  in  their  eyes  -,  no-.with- 
flanding  which,  they  are  far  from  being  fo  ravenous 
as  the  European  wolves,  nor  will  they  ever  attack  a 
man,  except  they  have  accidentally  fed  on  the  fleih 
of  thofe  flam  in  battle.  When  they  herd  together, 
as  they  often  do  in  the  winter,  they  make  a  hideous 
and  terrible  noife.  In  thefe  parts  there  are  two 
kinds  ;  one  of  which  is  of  a  fallow  colour,  tiie  other 
of  a  dun,  inclining  to  a  black. 

The  FOX.  There  are  two  forts  of  foxes  in  North- 
America,  which  differ  only  in  their  colour,  one  be- 
ing of  a  reddifh  brown,  the  ether  of  a  grey  j  thofe 
of  the  latter  kind  that  are  found  near  the  river 
Miffiflippi,  are  extremely  beautiful,  their  hair  being 
of  a  fine  filver  grey. 

DOGS.  The  dogs  employed  by  the  Indians  in 
hunting  appear  to  be  all  of  the  fame  fpecies  -,  they 
carry  their  ears  ere£t,  and  greatly  refemble  a  wolf 
about  the  head.  They  are  exceedingly  ufeful  to 
them  in  their  hunting  excurfions,  and  will  attack  the 
fiercer!:  of  the  game  they  are  in  purfuit  of.  They  are 
alfo  remarkable  for  their  fidelity  to  their  matters; 
but  being  ill  fed  by  them,  are  very  troublefome  in 
their  huts  or  tents. 


GARVER's      TRAVELS.  297 

The  CAT  of" the  Mountain.  This  creature  is  in 
Iliape  like  a  cat,  only  much  larger.  The  hair  or 
fur  refembles  alio  the  fkin  of  that  domeftic  animal ; 
the  colour  however  differs,  for  the  former  is  of  a 
reddifh  or  orange  carl,  but  grows  lighter  near  the 
belly.  The  whole  fkin  is  beautified  with  black  fpots 
of  different  figures,  of  which  thofe  on  the  back  are 
long,  and  thofe  on  the  lower  parts  round.  On  the 
ears  there  are  black  ftripes.  This  creature  is  nearly 
as  fierce  as  a  leopard,  but  will  feldom  attack  a  man. 

The  BUFFALO.  This  beaft,  of  which  there 
are  amazing  numbers  in  thefe  parts,  is  larger  than 
an  ox,  has  ihort  black  horns,  with  a  large  beard 
under  his  chin,  and  his  head  is  fo  full  of  hair,  that 
it  falls  over  his  eyes,  and  gives  him  a  frightful  look. 
There  is  a  bunch  on  his  oack  which  begins  at  the 
haunches*  and  increafing  gradually  to  the  moulders* 
reaches  on  to  the  neck.  Both  this  excrefcence  and 
its  whole  body  are  covered  with  long  hair,  or  ra- 
ther wool,  of  a  dun  or  moufe  colour,  wnich  is  ex- 
ceedingly valuable,  efpecialiy  that  on  the  fore  part 
of  the  body.  Irs  head  is  larger  than  a  bull's,  with  a 
very  fhort  neck  -,  the  bread  is  broad,  and  the  body 
decreafes  towards  the  butrocks.  Thefe  creatures 
will  run  away  at  the  fight  of  a  man,  and  a  whole 
herd  will  make  off  when  they  perceive  a  lingle  dog. 
The  rlefh  of  the  buffalo  is  excellent  food,  its  hide 
extremely  ufeful,  and  the  hair  very  proper  for  the 
manufacture  of  various  articles. 

The  DEER.  There  is  but  one  fpecies  of  deer 
in  Nor'di-America,  and  thefe  are  higher  and  of  a 
dimmer  make  than  t.hofe  in  Europe.  Their  fh'ape 
is  nearly  the  fame  as  the  European,  their  colour  of 
a  deep  fallow,  and  their  horns  very  large  and  branch* 
kxgi     This   beaft  is  the  fwifteft  on  the  American. 


293  C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVELS. 

plains,  and  they  herd  together  as  they  do  in  other 
countries. 

The  ELX  greatly  exceeds  the  deer  in  fize,  being 
in  bulk  equal  to  a  horfe.  Its  body  is  fhaped  like 
that  of  a  deer,  only  its  tail  is  remarkably  fhort,  be- 
ing not  more  than  three  inches  long.  The  colour 
of  its  hair,  which  is  grey,  and  not  unlike  that  of  a 
camel,  but  of  a  more  reddiSi  call,  is  nearly  three 
inches  in  length,  and  as  coarfe  as  that  of  a  horfe. 
The  horns  of  this  creature  grow  to  a  prodigious  fize, 
extending  fo  wide  that  two  or  three  perfons  might 
fit  between  them  at  the  fame  time.  They  are  not 
forked  like  thole  of  a  dttry  but  have  all  their  teeth 
or  branches  on  the  outer  edge.  Nor  does  the  form 
of  thofe  of  the  elk  refemble  a  deer's,  the  former  be- 
ing flat,  and  eight  or  ten  inches  broad,  whereas  the 
latter  are  round  and  considerably  narrower.  They 
ihed  their  horns  every  year  in  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary, and  by  Auguft  the  new  ones  are  nearly  arrived 
at  their  full  growth.  Notwithstanding  their  fize, 
and  the  means  of  defence  nature  has  furnimed  them 
with,  they  are  as  timorous  as  a  deer.  Their  fkin  is 
very  ufefui,  and  will  drefs  as  well  as  that  of  a  buck. 
They  feed  on  grafs  in  the  fummer,  and  on  mofs  or 
buds  in  the.  winter. 

The  MOOSE  is  nearly  about  the  fize  of  the  elkr 
and  the  horns  of  it  are  almoft  as  enormous  as  that 
animal's  j  the  ftem  of  them,  however,  is  not  quite 
fo  wide,  and  they  branch  on  both  fides  like  thofe  of 
a  deer ;  this  creature  alio  flicds  them  every  year. 
Though  its  hinder  parts  are  very  broad,  its  tail  is 
not  above  an  inch  long.  It  has  feet  and  legs  like  a 
camel ;  its  head  is  about  two  feet  long,  its  upper  lip- 
much  larger  than  the  under,  and  the  noftriis  of  it 
are  fo  wide  that  a  man  might  thruft  his  hand  into 
them  a  confiderable  way.     The  hair  of  the  moofe  is 


TRAVELS.  29-, 

light  grey,  mixed  With  a  blackifh  red.  It  is  veiy 
claftiCj  for  though  it  be  beaten  ever  fo  long,  it  will 
retain  its  original  fhape.  The  flefh  is  exceeding 
good  food,  eafy  of  digeftion,  and  very  nourifhmg. 
The  nofe,  or  upper  lip,  which  is  large  and  Icofe 
from  the  gums,  is  efteemed  a  great  delicacy,  being 
of  a  firm  confidence,  between  marrow  arid  griftle, 
and  when  properly  drefTed,  affords  a  rich  and  luTci- 
ous  difh.  Its  hide  is  very  proper  for  leather,  being 
thick  and  ftrong,  yetfjft  and  pliable.  The  pace  of 
this  creature  is  always  a  trot,  which  is  fo  expediti- 
ous, that  it  \b  exceeded  in  fv/iftnefs  but  by  few  of  its 
fellow  inhabitants  of  thefe  woods.  It  is  generally 
found  in  the  fcrefls,  where  it  feeds  on  mofs  and  buds. 
Though  this  creature  is  of  the  deer  kind,  it  never 
herds  as  thofe  do.  Mod  authors  confound  it  with 
the  elk,  deer,  or  carraboo,  but  it  is  a  fpecies  totally 
different,  as  misfit  be  difcovered  bv  attending  to  the 
defcription  I  have  given  of  each. 

The  CARRABOO.  This  bead  is  not  near  fo 
tall  as  the  moofe,  however  it  is  fomething  like  it  in 
ihape,  only  rather  more  heavy,  and  inclining  to  the 
form  of  the  afs.  The  horns  of  it  are  not  flat  as  thole 
of  the  elk  are,  but  round  like  thole  of  the  deer  3  they 
alfo  meet  nearer  together  at  the  extremities,  and 
bend  more  over  the  face  than  either  thofe  of  the  elk 
or  moofe.  It  partakes  of  the  fwiftnefs  of  the  deer? 
and  is  with  difficulty  overtaken  by  its  purfuers,  The 
rlefh  of  it  is  likewife  equally  as  good,  the  tongue 
particularly  is  in  high  efteem.  The  ikin  being  fmooth 
and  free  from  veins,  is  as  valuable  as  fhamoy, 

The  CARCAJOU.  The  creature,  which  h  of 
the  cat  kind,  is  a  terrible  enemy  to  the  preceding 
four  fpecies  of  beads.  He  either  comes  upon  them 
from  fome  concealment  unperceived,  or  climbs  up 
into  a  tree,  and  taking  his  daricr,  en  fome  of  the 


3p©  C  A  R  V  E  R  '  s     T  R  A  V  ELS. 

branches,  waits  till  one  of  them,  driven  by  an  ex- 
treme of  heat  or  cold,  takes  fhelter  under  ic  ;  when 
he  fallens  upon  his  neck,  and  opening  the  jugular 
vein,  foon  brings  his  prey  to  the  ground.  This  he 
is  enabled  to  do  by  his  long  tail,  with  which  he  en- 
circle the  body  of  his  adverfary ;  and  the  only  means 
they  have  to  fhun  their  fate,  is  by  flying  immedi- 
ately to  the  water;  by  this  method,  as  the  carcajou 
has  a  great  diflike  to  that  element,  he  is  fometimes 
got  rid  of  before  he  can  effect  his  purpofe. 

The  SKUNK.  This  is  the  moil  extraordinary 
animal  that  the  American  woods  produce.  It  is  ra- 
ther lefs  than  a  pole- cat,  and  of  the  fame  fpecies  ; 
it  is  therefore  often  miftaken  for  that  creature,  but 
it  is  very  defferent  from  it  in  many  points,  lt^  hair 
is  long  and  mining,  variegated  with  large  black  and 
white  fpots,  the  former  moitly  on  the  ihoniders  and 
rump;  it  tail  is  very  bum  v.  like  that  of  the  fox,  part 
black,  and  part  white  like  jts  body  ;  it  lives  chiefly 
in  the  woods  and  hedges ;  but  its  extraordinary  powd- 
ers are  only  fhewn  when  it  is  purfued.  As  foon  as 
he  finds  himfelf  in  danger,  he  ejects,  to  a  great  dif- 
tance  from  behind,  a  fmall  dream  of  water,  of  fo 
fubtile  a  nature,  and  at  the  fame  time  of  fo  powerful 
a  fmell,  that  the  air  is  tainted  with  it  for  half  a  mile 
in  circumference  5  and  his  purfuers,  whether  men  or 
dogs,  being  almcfr,  fuffocated  with  the  flench,  are 
obliged  to  give  over  the  purfuit.  On  this  account 
he  is  called  by  the  French,  Enfant  du  Diable,  the 
Child  of  the  Devil;  or  B:te  Puante,  the  Stinking 
Bead.  It  is  almoit  impofiible  to  defcribe  the  noi- 
fome  effects  of  the  liquid  with  which  this  creature  is 
fupplied  by  nature  for  its  defence.  If  a  drop  of  it 
falls  on  your  clothes,  they  are  rendered  fo  disagree- 
able that  it  is  impoffibie  ever  after  to  wear  them  ;  or 
if  any  of  it  enters  your  eyelids,  the  pain  becomes  in- 
tolerable for  a  long  time,  and  perhaps  at  la(l  lofe 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  3ot 

your  fight.  The  fmell  of  the  fkunk,  though  thus 
to  be  dreaded,  is  not  like  that  of  a  putrid  carcafe, 
but  a  ftrong  foetid  effluvia  of  muik,  which  difpleafes 
rather  from  its  penetrating  power  than  from  its  nau- 
feoufnefs.  It  is  notwithftanding  confidered  as  con- 
ducive to  clear  the  head,  and  to  raife  the  fpirits. 
This  water  is  fuppofed  by  nuturalifts  to  be  its  urine: 
but  I  have  diflecled  many  of  them  that  I  have  fhot, 
and  have  found  within  their  bodies,  near  the  urinal 
veflcl,  a  fmall  receptacle  of  water,  totally  diftinct 
from  the  bladder  which  contained  the  urine,  and 
from  which  alone  I  am  fatisMed  the  horrid  flench 
proceeds.  After  having  taken  out  with  great  care 
the  bag  wherein  this  water  is  lodged,  I  have  fre- 
quently fed  on  them,  and  have  found  them  very 
fweet  and  good  -,  but  one  drop  emitted,  taints  not 
only  the  carcafe,  but  the  whole  houfe,  and  renders 
every  kind  of  provifions,  that  are  in  it,  unfit  for 
ufe.  With  great  jullice  therefore  do  the  French 
give  it  liich  a  diabolical  name. 

The  PORCUPINE.  The  body  of  an  Ameri- 
can porcupine  is  in  bulk  about  the  fize  of  a  fmall 
dog,  but  it  is  both  fhorter  in  length,  and  not  fo 
high  from  the  ground.  It  varies  very  much  from 
.thofe  of  other  countries  both  in  its  fhape  and  the 
length  of  its  quills.  The  former  is  like  that  of  a  fox, 
except  the  head,  which  is  not  fo  fharp  and  long, 
,but  refembles  more  that  of  a  rabbit.  Its  body  is 
covered  with  hair  of  a  dark  brown,  about  four  in- 
ches long,  great  part  of  which  are  the  thicknefs  of  a 
ftraw,  and  are  termed  its  quills.  Thefe  are  white, 
with  black  points,  hollow  and  very  ftrong,  efpeci- 
ally  thofe  that  grow  on  the  back.  The  quills  ferve 
this  creature  for  ofTenfive  and  defeniive  weapons, 
which  he  darts  at  his  enemies,  and  if  they  pierce 
the  flefh  in  the  lead  degree,  they  will  fink  quite  into 
it,  and  are   not  to   be   extracted  without  incifion. 


:o2 


e  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVEL  S. 


The  Indians  ufe  them  for  boring  their  ears  andnofes, 
to  infert  their  pendants,  and  aifo  by  way  of  orna- 
ment to  their  ftockings,  hair,  <kc.  befides  which 
they  greatly  efteem  the  fiefh. 

The  WOOD-CHUCK  is  a  ground  animal  of 
the  fur  kind,  about  the  fize  of  a  marten,  being 
nearly  fifteen  inches  long;  its  body  however  is  roun- 
der, and  its  legs  fhorter  ;  the  fore-paws  of  it  are 
broad,  and  conflrucled  for  the  purpofe  of  digging 
holes  in  the  ground,  where  it  burrows  like  a  rabbit; 
its  fur  is  of  a  grey  colour,  on  the  reddifh  caft,  and 
its  fteih  tolerable  food. 

The  RACOON  is  fomewhat  lefs  irr  fize  than  a 
beaver,  and  its  feet  and  legs  are  like  thofe  of  that 
creature,  but  fhort  in  proportion  to  its  body,  which 
refembles  that  of  a  badger.  The  fhape  of  its  head 
is  much  like  a  fox's,  only  the  ears  are  fhorter, 
more  round  and  naked;  and  its  hair  is  alfo  fimilar 
to  that  animal's,  being  thick,  long,  foft,  and  black 
at  the  ends.  On  its  face  there  is  a  broad  flripe 
that  runs  acrofs  it,  and  includes  the  eyes,  which 
are  large.  Its  muzzle  is  black,  and  at  the  end 
roundifh  like  that  of  a  dog;  the  teeth  are  alfo 
fimilar  to  thofe  of  a  dog  in  number  and  mape ;  the 
tail  is  long  and  round,  with  annular  ftripes  on  it 
like  thofe  of  a  cat;  the  feet  have  five  long  lien- 
der  toes,  armed  with  fharp  claws,  by  which  it  is 
enabled  to  climb  up  trees  like  a  monkey,  and  to 
run  to  the  very  extremities  of  the  boughs.  It  makes 
ufe  of  its  fore- feet,  in  the  manner  of  hands,  and 
feeds  itfelf  with  them.  The  fleih  of  this  creature 
is  very  good  in  the  months  of  September  and  Oc- 
tober, when  fruit  and  nuts,  on  which  it  likes  to 
feed y  are  plenty. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  303 

The  MARTEN  is  rather  larger  than  a  fquirrel, 
and  fomewhatof  the  fame  make;  its  legs. and  claws, 
however,  are  considerably  fhorter.  Its  ears  are 
fhort,  broad,  and  roundiiri,  and  its  eyes  mine  in 
the  night  like  thofe  of  a  cat.  The  whole  body  is 
covered  with  fur  of  a  browniih  fallow  colour,  and 
there  are  fome  in  the  more  northern  parts  which 
are  black;  the  fkins  of  the  latter  are  of  much  grea- 
ter value  than  the  other.  The  tail  is  covered  with 
long  hair,  which  makes  it  appear  thicker  than  it 
really  is.  Its  flefh  is  fometimes  eaten,  but  is  not  in 
any  great  efteem. 

The  MUSQUASH,  or  MUSK-RAT,  is  fo 
termed  for  the  exquifite  mufk  which  it  affords.  It 
appears  to  be  a  diminutive  of  the  beaver,  being 
endowed  with  all  the  properties  of  that  fagacious 
animal,  and  wants  nothing  but  fize  and  ftrength, 
being  not  much  bigger  than  a  large  rat  of  the  Nor- 
way breed,  to  rival  the  creature  it  fo  much  refem- 
bles.  Was  it  not  for  its  tail,  which  is  exactly,  the 
fame  as  that  of  an  European  rat,  the  ftructure  of 
their  bodies  is  fo  much  alike,  efpecially  the  head, 
that  it  might  be  taken  for  a  fmall  beaver.  Like 
that  creature  it  builds  itfelf  a  cabin,  but  of  a  iefs 
perfect  conftruction,  and  takes  up  its  abode  near 
the  iide  of  fome  picjee  of  water.  In  the  fpring 
they  leave  their  retreats,  and  in  pairs  fubfift  on 
leaves  and  roots  till  the  fummer  comes  on,  when 
they  feed  on  flrawberries,  rafberries,  and  fuch 
other  fruits  as  they  can  reach.  At  the  approach  of 
winter  they  feparate,  when  each  takes  up  its  lodging 
apart  by  itfelf  in  fome  hollow  of  a  tree,  where  they 
remain  quite  unprovided  with  food,  and  there  rs 
the  greateft  reafon  to  believe,  fubfift  without  any 
till  the  return  of  fpring. 


jo4  CARVERS    TRAVEL  S. 

SQUIRRELS.  There  are  five  forts  of  fquirrels- 
in  America;  the  red,  the  grey,  the  black,  the  va- 
riegated, and  the  flying.  The  two  former  are 
exactly  the  fame  as  thofe  of  Europe;  the  black  are 
fo  me  what  larger,  and  differ  from  them  only  in 
colour;  the  variegated  alfo  refemble  them  in  fhape 
and  figure,  but  are  very  beautiful,  being  finely 
frriped  with  white  or  grey,  and  fomethnes  with 
red  and  black.  The  American  flying  fquirrel  is 
much  lefs  than  the  European,  being  not  above  five 
inches  long,  and  of  a  ruffe t  grey  or  afh-colcur 
on  the  back,  and  white  on  the  under  parts.  It 
has  black  prominent  eyes,  like  thofe  of  the  moufe, 
with  a  long,  flat,  broad  tail.  By  a  membrane  on 
each  fide,  which  reaches  from  its  fore  to  its  hind 
legs,  this  creature  is  enabled  to  leap  from  one  tree 
to  another,  even  if  they  (land  a  confiderable  diflance 
apart ;  this  loofe  fkin,  which  it  is  enabled  to  ftretch 
out  like  a  fail,  and  by  which  it  is  buoyed  up,  is 
about  two  inches  broad,  and  is  covered  with  a  fine 
hair  or  down.  It  feeds  upon  the  fame  provifions  as 
the  others,  and  is  eafily  tamed. 

The  BEAVER.  This  creature  has  beenfo  often 
treated  of,  and  his  uncommon  abilities  fo  minutely 
defcribed,  that  any  further  account  of  it  will  appear 
unneceffary;  however  for  the  benefit  of  thofe  of  my 
readers  who  are  not  fo  well  acquainted  with  the 
form  and  properties  of  this  fagacious  and  ufeful 
animal,  I  fhall  give  a  concife  defcription  of  it.  The 
beaver  is  an  amphibious  quadruped,  which  cannot 
live  for  any  long  time  in  the  water,  and  it  is  faid 
is  even  able  to  exift  entirely  without  k,  provided 
it  has  the  convenience  of  fome times  bathing  itfclf. 
The  largeft  beavers  are  nearly  four  feet  in  length, 
and  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  inches  in  breadth  over 
the  haunches;  they  weigh  about  fixty  pounds.  Its 
head  is  like  that  of  the  otter,  but  larger;  its  fnout 


C  A  £  V  E  R  's     T  R  A  V  E  L  S.  (&< 


.  crtylong,  the  eyes  fmall,  the  ears  fhort,  round; 
hairy  on  the  outfide,  and  fmooth  within,  and  its 
teetn  very  long j  the  under  teeth  (land. out  of  their 
mouths  about  the  breadth  6:  three  fingers,  and 
the  upper  half  a  finger,  all  of  which  are  broad; 
crooked,  frrong,  and  {"harp;  befides  thofe  teeth 
called  the  incifors,  which  grow  double,  are  fet 
very  deep  in  their  jaws,  and  bend  like  the  edge  of 
an  axe,  they  have  fixteen  grinders,  eight  on  each 
fide,  four  above  and  tour  belpwj  direcYiy  oppofite. 
to  each  other.  With  the  former  they  are  able  to 
cut  down  trees  of  a  confiderabk  fize,  with  the  latter 
to  break  the  hardeft  fubftanccs.  Its  legs  are  fhort, 
particularly  the  fore-legs,  which  are  only  four  or 
rive  inches  long,  and  not  unlike  thofe  of  a  badger; 
the  toes  of  the  iore-icet  are  feparate,  the  nails  placed, 
obliquely,  and  are  hollow  like  quills;  but  the  hind 
feet  are  quite  different,  and  furnifhed  with  mem- 
branes between  the  toes.  By  this  means  it  can 
^valk  though  but  (lowly,  and  is  able  to  fwini  with 
as  much  eafe  as  any  other  aquatic  animal.  The 
tail  has  iomewhat  in  it  that  refembles  a  iilh;  and 
feems  to  have  no  manner  of  relation  to  the  reft  of 
The  body,  except  the  hind  feet,  all  the  other  parts 
being  fimiiar  to  thofe  of  land  animals.  The  tail  is 
covered  with  a  fkin  furnifhed  with  fcabs,  tha: 
are  joined  together  by  a  pellicle;  their  (bales  are 
about  the  thicknefs  of  parchment,  nearly  a  line  and 
a  half  in  lengthy  and  generally  of  a  hexagonical 
figure,  having  fix  corners;  it  is  about  eleven  or 
twelve  inches  in  length,  and  broader  in  the  middle, 
Where  it  is  iour  inches  over,  than  either  at  the  root 
or  the  extremity.  1:  is  about  two  inches  thick  near 
the  body,  where  it  is  almost  round,  and  grows  gra- 
dually thinner  and  flatter  to  the  end.  The  coioin 
of  the  beaver  is  different  according  to  the  different 
climates  in  which  it  i:  found.     In  the  mof:  sort  . . 


•$66  C  A  R  V  E  R  '  5      T  R  A  V  E  Is  S. 

parts  they  arc  generally  quite  black;  in  more  terru 
perare,  brown;  their  colour  becoming  lighter  and 
lighter  as  thty  approach  towards  the  fouth.  The 
fur  is  of  two  forts  ail  over  the  body,  except  at  the 
feet,  where  it  is  very  Inert;  that  which  is  the  tongeft 
is  re ne rally  in  length  about  an  inch,  but  on  the  back 
it  fometmies  extends  to  two  inches,  gradually  di- 
miniihing  towards  the  head  and  tail.  This  part  of 
the  fur  is  harm,  coarfe,  and  mining,  and  of  little 
life;  the  other  part  confifts  of  a  very  thick  and  fine 
down,  lb  felt  that  it  feels  aim  oft  like  filk,  about 
three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  is  what  is 
commonly  manufactured.  Caftor,  which  is  ufeful 
in  medicine,  is  produced  from  the  body  of  this 
creature ;  it  was  formerly  believed  to  be  its  tefticles, 
but  later  difcoveries  have  fnovvn  that  it  is  contained 
in  four  bags,  fituated  in  the  lower  belly.  Two  of 
which,  that  are  called  the  fupericr,  from  their  being 
more  elevated  than  the  ethers,  are  filled  with  a  foft, 
refinousj  adhefive  matter,  mixed  with  frnall  fibres^ 
greyifn  without,  and  yellow  within,  of  a  ftrong, 
difagreeable,  and  penetrating  fcent,  and  very  in- 
flammable. This  is  the  true  caftoreum:  it  hardens 
in  the  air,  and  becomes  brown,  brittle,  and  friable; 
The  inferior  bags  contain  an  unctuous  liquor  like 
honey;  the  colour  of  which  is  a  pale  yellow,  and 
its  odor  fomewhat  different  from  the  other,  being 
rather  weaker  and  more  difagrreeable,  it  however 
thickens  as  it  grows  older,  and  at  length  becomes 
about  the  conf  ftence  of  tallow.  This  has  alfo  its 
particular  ufe  in  medicine;  but  it  is  not  fo  valuable 
as  the  true  cailoreum. 

The  ingenuity  of  thefe  creatures  in  building  their 
cabins,  and  in  providing  for  their  fubfiflence,  is  truly 
wonderful.  When  they  are  about  to  coofe  them- 
felves  a  habitation,  they  affemble  in  companies 
fometimes  of  two  or  three  hundred,  and  after  mature 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  307 

deliberation  fix  on  a  place  where  plenty  of  pro- 
visions and  all  nece-Taries  are  to  be  found.  Theif 
Jioufes  are  always  fituated  in  the  water,  and  when 
they  can  find  neither  lake  nor  pond  adjacent,  they 
endeavour  to  fupply  the  defect  by  (topping  the  cur- 
rent of  fome  brook  or  final)  river  by  means  of  a  caufe- 
way  or  dam.  For  this  purpofe  they  kt  about  fell- 
ing of  treesj  and  they  take  care  to  chopfe  out  thofc 
that  grow  above  the  place  where  they  intend  to  build, 
that  they  may  fwim  down  with  the  current.  Hav- 
ing fixed  on  thofe  that  are  proper,  three  or  four 
beavers  placing  themfclves  round  a  large  one,  find 
means  with  their  ftrong  teeth  to  bring  it  down. 
They  alio  prudently  contrive  that  it  mania]!  towards 
the  water,  that  they  may  have  the  lefs  way  to  carry 
it.  After  they  have  by  a  continuance  of  the  fame 
labor  and  induftry,  cut  it  into  proper  lengths,  they 
roll  thefe  into  the  water,  and  navigate  them  towards 
the  place  where  they  are  to  be  employed..  Without, 
entering  more  minutely  into  the  me afures  they  pur- 
ine in  the  conftruclfcion  of  their  dams,  I  fh all  onV 
remark,  that  having  prepared  a  kind  of  mortar  with 
their  feet,  and  laid  it  on  with  their  tails,  which  they 
had  before  made  ufe  of  to  tranfport  it  to  the  place 
where  it  is  requifite,  they  conitrucc  them  with  as, 
much  folidity  and  regularity  as  the  moil  experi- 
enced workmen  could  do.  The  formation  of" 
their  cabins  is  no  lefs  amazing.  Thefeare  either 
built  on  piles  in  the  middle  o%  the  final*  lakes, 
they  have  thus  formed,  on.  the  bank  of  a  river, 
or  at  the  extremity  of  fome  point  of  land  that  ad- 
vances into  a  lake.  The  figure  of  them  is  round  or 
oval,  and  they  are  fafnioned  with  an  ingenuity  equaj. 
to  their  dams.  Two  thirds  of  the  edifice  (land  above 
the  water,  and  this  part  is  fufficiently  capacious  to 
contain  eight  or  ten  inhabitants.  Each  beaver  has 
his  place  afiigried  him,  the  floor  of  which  he  curi- 
oufly  ftrew-s  with  leaves,  or  fin  all  ^ranches  of  tha 


£oS  CARVER's    TRA;VE.liS. 

pine-tree,  fo  as  to  render  it  clean  and  comfortable j 
and  their  qabins  are  all  fituated  fo  contiguous  to 
each  other,  as  to  allow  of  an  eafy  communication. 
The  winter  never  iurprifes  thefe  animals  before  their 
bufmefs  is  completed  -,  for  by  the  latter  end  of  Sep- 
tember their  houfes  are  rimmed,  and  their  flock  of 
pro  villous  js  generally  laid  in.  Thefe  confiit  of 
ftnall  pieces  of  wood  whofe  texture  is  foft,  ftich  as 
the  poplar,  the  afpin,  or  "willow,  &c.  which  they 
lay  up  in  piles,  and  difpofe  of  in  fuch  maner  as  to 
preferve  their  incisure.  Was  I  to  enumerate  every 
mftance  of  fagacity  that  is  to  be  difcovcred  in  thefe 
animals,  they  would  fill  a  volume.,  and  prove  not 
on  y  entertaining  but  initruclivec 

The  OTTER.  This  creature  alio  is  amphibi- 
ous, and  greatly  reiembles  a  beaver,  but  is  very 
<'t  liferent  from  it  in  many  refpecls.  Its  body  is  nearly 
as  long  as  a  beaver's,  but  confiderably  lefs  in  all  its 
parts.  The  muzzle,  eyes,  and  the  form  of  the 
head  are  nearly  the  fame,  but  the  teeth  are  very 
unlike,  for  the  otter  wants  the  large  incifors  or  nip- 
pers that  a  beaver  has;  inilead  of  thefe,  all  his 
L'eeth,  without  any  diRinclion,  arc  fhaped  like 
thole  of  a  dog  or  wolf  The  hair  alio  of  the 
former  is  not  half  fo  longr  as  that  belonging  to 
the  latter,  nor  is  the  colour  of  it  exactly  the  fame, 
for  the  hair  of  an  otter  under  the  neck,  itomach, 
and  belly,  is  more  greyifh  than  that  of  a  beaver, 
iind  in  many  other  refpecls  it  likewife  varies. 
This  animal,  which  is  met  with  in  molt  parts  of 
rne  world,  but  in  much  greater  numbers  in  North- 
Americi,  is  very  mifchievous,  and  when  he  i^ 
cjofdy    puiiued,     will    not    only  attack   dogs    b\H 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  3Qq 

It  generally  feeds  upon  Ml,  efpecially  in  the 
fummer,  but  in  the  winter  is  contented  with  the 
bark  of  trees,  or  the  produce  of  the  fields.  Its 
He  fli  both  taftes  and  fmeils  offifh,  and  is  not  whole - 
fome  food,  though  it  is  fometimes  eaten  through 
necefiity. 

The  MINK  is  of  the  otter  kind,  and  fubfifts  in 
the  fame  manner.  In  fhape  and  fize  it  refembles  a 
pole-cat,  being  equally  long  and  (lender.  Its  fkin 
is  blacker  than  that  of  an  otter,  or  almoft  any  other 
creature;  cc  as  black  as  a -mink,"  being  a  pro- 
verbial expreffion  in  America;  it  is  not  however 
{o  valuable,  though  this  greatly  depends  on  the 
feafon  in  which  it  is  taken.  Its  tail  is  round  like 
that  of  a  fnake,  but  growing  flattifh  towards  the 
end,  and  is  entirely  without  hair.  An  agreeable 
mufky  fcent  exhales  from  its  body;  and  it  is  met 
with  near  the  fources  of  rivers,  on  whofe  banks  it 
f  hiefly  lives. 


OF     THE     BIRDS. 


The  Eagle,  the.  Hawk,  the  Night  Hawk,  the 
Fifh.  Hawk,  the  Whipperwill,  the  Raven,  the  Crow, 
the  Owl,  Parrots,  the  Pelican,  the  Crane,  the  Stork, 
the  Cormorant,  the  Heron,  the  Swan,  the  Goofe, 
Ducks,  Teal,  the  Loon,  the  Water-Hen,  the  Tur- 
key, the  Heath  Cock,  the  Partridge,  the  Quail,  Pi- 
geons, the  Snipe,  Larks,  the  Yvrooclpecker,  the  Cuc- 
koo, the  Blue  jay,  the  Swallow,  the  Wakon  Bird, 
the  Black  Bird,  the  Red  Bird,  the  Thrufh,  the  Whet- 
law,  the  Nightingale,  the  King  Bird,  the  Robin,  the 
Wren,  and  the  Humming  Bird. 


IG  CARVER'S.    TRAVELi 


The  EAGLE.  There  are  only  two  forts  of  ea- 
gles in  thefe  parts,  the  bald  and  the  grey,  which  are 
much  the  fame  in  fize,  and  iimilar  ;o  the  iiiape  o( 
thofe  ofother  countries. 

The  NIGHT  HAWK.  This  bird  is  of  the 
hawk  fpecies,  its  bill  being  crooked,  its  wings 
formed  for  fwiftnefs,  and  its  ihape  nearly  like  that  of 
the  common  hawk  ,  but  in  fize  it  is  confiderably  lefs* 
and  in  colour  rather  darker.  It  is  fcarcely  ever  {^cn 
but  in  the  evening,  when,  at  the  approach  of  twi- 
light, it  Mies  about,  and  darts  itfelf  in  wanton  gam- 
bols at  the  head  of  the  belated  traveller.  Before  a 
thunder-mower  thefe  birds  are  feen  at  an  amazing 
height  in  the  air,  afTembled  together  in  great  num- 
bers, as  fw allows  are  obferv-ed  to  do  on  the  fame 
occafion. 

The  WHIPPERWILL,  or,  as  it  is  termed  by 
the  Indians,  the  Muckawifs.  This  extraordinary 
bird  is  fomewhat  like  the  lafr-mentioned  in  its  fhape 
and  colour,  only  it  has  fome  whitilh.  flripes  acrofs  the 
wings,  and  like  that  is  feldom  ever  feen  till  after 
fun-fet.  It  al.fo  is  never  met  with  but  during  the 
fpring  and  fummer  months.  As  foon  as  the  Indi- 
ans are  informed  by  its  notes  of  its  return,  they  con- 
clude that  the  froft  is  entirely  gone,  in  which  they 
are  feldom  deceived,  and  on  receiving  this  afiurance. 
of  milder  weather,  begin  to  fow  their  corn.  It  ac- 
quires its  name  by  the  noife  it  makes,  which  to  the 
people  of  the  colonies  founds  like  the  name  they  give 
it,  Whipperwill ;  to  an  Indian  ear  Muck-a-wifs. 
The  words,  it  is  true,  are  not  alike,  but  in  this  man- 
ner they  ftrikc  the  imagination  of  both ;  and  the 
circumilance  is  a  proof  that  the  fame  founds,  if  they 
are  not  rendered  certain  by  being  reduced  to  the 
rules  of  orthography,  might  convey  different  ideas. 


CARVE  R's    TRAVELS.  va 

Xo  different  people.  As  ioon  as  night  comes  on> 
thefe  birds  will  place  themfelves  on  the  fences, 
flumps,  or  ftones  that  lie  near  fomc  houfe,  and  re- 
peat their  melancholy  notes  without  any  variation  till 
midnight.  The  Indians,  and  fome  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  back  fettlements,  think  if  this  bird 
perches  upon  any  houfe,  that  it  betokens  fomfc 
rnifhap  to  the  inhabitants  of  it. 

The  FISH  HAWK  greatly  refembles  the  latter 
in  its  fhape,  and  receives  his  name  from  his  food, 
w\  ich  is  generally  fifh  ;  it  fkims  over  the  lakes  and 
rivers  and  fometimes  feems  to  lie  expanded  on  the 
water,  as  he  hovers  fo  ciofe  to  it,  and  having  by 
fome  attractive  power  drawn  the  fifh  within  its  reach; 
darts  fuddenly  upon  them.  The  charm  it  makes 
ufe  of  is  fuppofed  to  be  an  oil  contained  in  a  fmail 
bag  in  the  body,  and  which  nature  has  by  fome 
means  or  other  fupplied  him  with  the  power  of ufing 
for  this  purpofe  ;  it  is  however  very  certain  that  any 
bait  touched  with  a  drop  of  the  oil  collected  from 
this  bird  is  an  irreiiftibl'e  lure  for  all  forts  of  fiih,  and 
infures  the  angler  great  fuccefs. 

The  OWL.  The  only  fort  of  owls  that  is  found 
on  the  banks  of  the  Miffiffippi  is  extremely  beauti- 
ful in  its  plumage,  being  of  a  fine  deep  yellow  or 
gold  colour,  plealingly  fhaded  and  fpotted. 

The  CRANE.  There  is  a  kind  of  crane  in  thefe 
parts,  which  is  called  by  Father  Hennipin  a  pelican> 
that  is  about  the  fize  of  the  European  crane,  of  a 
greyifh  colour,  and  with  long  legs  j  but  this  fpecies 
differs  from  all  others  in  its  bill,  which  is  about 
twelve  inches  long,  and  one  inch  and  a  half  broad,  of 
which  breadth  it  continues  to  the  end,  where  it  is 
blunted,  and  round  like  a  paddle  :  irs  tongue  is  ©f 
the  fime  length. 


in  CARVEIl's     T  R  A   V  E  L  5 , 

DUCKS.  Among  a  variety  of  wild  ducks, 
the  different  fpecies   bf  which  amount  to  upwards 

of  twenty,  I  mall  confine  my  defcription  to  one 
iort,  that  is,  the  wood  duck,  or,  as  the  French 
term  it,  Canard  Branchus.  This  fowl  receives  its 
name  from  its  frequenting  the  woods,  and  perching 
en  the  branches  of  trees,  which  no  other  kind  of 
water  fowl  (a  characteriiiic  that  this  flill  preferves) 
is  known  to  do.  It  is  nearly  of  a  fize  with  other 
ducks ;  its  plumage  is  beautifully  variegated,  and 
very  brilliant.  The  Mem  of  it  alio,  as  it  feeds  but 
little  on  fifh,  is  finely  flavored*  and  much  luperior 
to  any  ether  fort. 

The  TEAL.  I  have  already  remarked  in  my 
Journal,  that  the  teal  found  on  the  Fox  River; 
and  the  head  branches  of  the  Mifllffippi,  are  per- 
haps not  to  be  equalled  for  the  fatnefs  and  delicacy 
of  their  flefh  by  any  other  in  the  world.  In  colour, 
ihape,  and  fize  they  are  very  little  different  from 
thole  found  in  other  countries. 

The  LOON  is  a  water  fowl,  fomewhat  lefs  than 
a  teal,  and  is  a  fpecies  of  the  dobchick.  Its  wings 
are  iliort,  and  its  legs  and  feet  large  in  proportion 
to  the  body i  the  colour  of  it  is  a  dark  brown, 
nearly  approaching  to  black;  and  as  it  feeds  only 
on  nih,  the  Beflii  of  it  is  very  ill  flavored.  Thefe 
birds  are  exceedingly  nimble  and  expert  at  diving, 
fo  that  it  is  aim  oft  impofilblc  for  one  per  fori  to  moot 
them,  as  they  will  dextrouHy  avoid  [he  {hot  by 
diving  before  thev  reach  them;  fo  that  it  requires 
three  perfons  to  kill  one  of  them,  and  this  can  i 
be  done  the  moment  it  raifts  its  head  out  o[  the  wa- 
ter as  it  returns  to  the  iurface  after  diving.  It 
however  enly  repays  the  trouble  taken  to  obtain  it 
by  the  excellenr  fnort  it  affords. 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 


313 


The  PARTRIDGE.  There  are  three  forts  of 
partridges  here,  the  brown,  the  red,  and  the  black, 
the  firft  of  which  is  mod  efteemed.  They  arc  all 
much  larger  than  the  European  partridges,  being 
nearly  the  fize  of  a  hen  pheafant;  their  head  and 
eyes  are  alfo  like  that  bird,  and  they  have  all  long 
tails,  which  they  fpread  like  a  fan,  but  not  erect; 
but  contrary  to  the  cuftom  of  thofe  in  other  coun- 
tries, they  will  perch  on  the  branches  of  the  poplar 
and  black  birch,  on  the  buds  of  which  they  reed 
early  in  the  morning  and  in  the  twilight  of  the 
evening  during  the  winter  months,  when  they  are 
eafiiy  mot. 

The  WOOD  PIGEON   is  nearly  the   fame  as 
ours,    and  there  are   fuch   prodigious  quantities  of 
them  on  the  banks  of  the  MifMippi,  that  they  will 
fometimes  darken  the  fun  for  feveral  minutes. 

The  WOODPECKER.  This  is  a  very  beau- 
tiful bird;  there  is  one  fort  whofe  feathers  are  a  mix- 
ture of  various  colours;  and  another  that  is  brown 
all  over  the  body,  except  the  head  and  neck,  which 
are  of  a  fine  red.  As  this  bird  is  fuppofed  to  make 
a  greater  noife  than  ordinary  at  particular  times^  it 
is  conjectured  his  cries  then  denote  rain. 

^  The  BLUE  JAY.  This  bird  is  fhaped  nearly 
like  the  European  jay,  only  that  its  tail  is  longer. 
On  the  top  of  its  head  is  a  creil:  of  blue  feathers, 
which  is  railed  or  let  down  at  pleafure.  The  lower 
part  of  the  neck  behind,  and  the  back,  are  of  a 
purplifh  colour,  and  the  upper  fides  of  the  wings 
and  tail,  as  well  as  the  lower  part  of  the  back  and 
rump,  are  of  a  fine  blue;  the  extremities  of  the 
wings  are  blackifh,  faintly  tinctured  with  dark  blue 
on  the  edges,  whilfl  the  other  parts  of  the  wing  are 

Rr 


3i|  C  A  R  V  E  R  '  s       T  R  A  V  ELS. 

barred  acrofs  with  black  in  an  el?2;ant  manner. 
Upon  the  whole  this  bird  can  fcarcely  be  exceeded 
in  beauty  by 'any  of  the  winged  inhabitants  of  this 
or  other  clima:es.  It  has  the  fame  jetting  motion 
that  jays  generally  have,  and  its  cry  is  far  more 
pleafing. 

The  WAKON  BIRD,  as  it  is  termed  by  the 
Indians,  appears  to  be  of  the  fame  fpecies  as  the 
birds  of  paradife.  The  name  they  have  given  it  is 
expreiTive  of  its  iuperior  excellence,  and  the  vene- 
ration they  have  for  it;  the  wakon  bird  being  in 
their  language  the  bird  of  the  Great  Spirit.  It  is 
nearly  the  fize  of  a  fwailow,  of  a  brown  colour, 
fhaded  about  the  neck  with  a  bright  green;  the 
wings  are  of  a  darker  brown  than  the  body;  its  tail 
is  compofed  of  four  or  five  feathers,  which  are  three 
times  as  long  as  its  body,  and  which  are  beautifully 
fhaded  wTith  green  and  purple.  It  carries  this  fine 
length  of  plumage  in  the  fame  manner  as  a  peacock 
does,  but  it  is  not  known  whether  it  ever  raifes  it 
into  the  erect  pofition  that  bird  fometimes  does. 
I  never  faw  anv  of  thefe  birds  in  the  colonies,  but 
the  Nando  wt  flic  Indians  caught  feverai  of  them  when 
I  was  in  their  country,  and  feemed  to  treat  them 
as  if  they  were  of  a  fuperior  rank  to  any  other  of 
the  feathered  race. 

The  BLACK  BIRD.  There  are  three  forts  of 
birds  in  North- America  that  bear  this  name;  the 
rirft  is  the  common,  or  as  it  there  termed,  the  crow 
black  bird,  which  is  quite  black,  and  of  the  fame 
hze  and  fhape  of  thofe  in  Europe,  but  it  has  not 
that  melody  in  its  notes  which  they  have.  In  the 
month  of  September  this  fort  fly  in  large  flights, 
and  do  great  mifchief  to  the  Indian  corn,  which  is 
at  tl  a*,  time  juft  ripe.  The  fecond  fort  is  the  red- 
wing, which  is  rather  fmaller  than  the   firft  ipecies, 


CARVER'S     T  R  A  V  ELS.  315 

but  like  it  is  black  all  over  its  body,  except  on  the 
lower  rim  of  the  wings,  where  it  is  a  fine,  bright, 
full  fcarlct.  It  builds  its  neft,  and  chiefly  reforts 
anions:  the  fmall  bufhes  that  stow  in  meadows 
and  low,  fwampy  places.  It  whittles  a  few  notes, 
but  is  not  equal  in  its  fong  te  the  European  black 
bird.  The  third  fort  is  of  the  fame  fize  as  the  lat- 
ter, and  is  jet-black  like  that,  but  all  the  upper 
part  of  the  wing,  juft  below  the  back,  is  of  a  fine, 
clear  white;  as  if  nature  intended  to  diverfify  the 
fpecies,  and  to  atone  for  the  want  of  a  melodious 
pipe  by  the  beauty  of  its  plumage;  for  this  alio  is 
deficient  in  its  mufical  powers.  The  beaks  of  every 
fort  are  of  a  full  yellow,  ar.d  the  females  of  each  of 
a  rutty  black  like  the  European. 

The  RED  BIRD  is  about  the  fize  of  a  fparrow, 
but  with  a  long  tail,  and  is  all  over  of  a  bright 
vermilion  colour.  I  faw  many  of  them  about  the 
Ottawa w  Lakes,  but  I  could  not  learn  that  they 
Fung.  I  alfo  obferved  in  fome  other  parts,  a  bird 
of  much  the  fame  make,  that  was  entirely  of  a  fine 
yellow. 

The  WHETSAW  is  of  the  cuckoo  kind,  being 
like  that,  a  folitary  bird,  and  fcarcely  ever  feen. 
In  the  fummer  months  it  is  heard  in  the  groves, 
where  it  makes  a  noife  like  the  filing  of  a  faw  ;  from 
which  it  receives  its  name. 

The  KING  BIRD  is  like  a  fwallow,  and  feems 
to  be  of  the  fame  fpecies  as  the  black  marten  or 
fwift.  It  is  called  the  King  Bird  becaufe  it  is  able 
to  matter  almoft  every  bird  that  flies.  I  have  often 
feen  it  bring  down  a  hawk. 

The  HUMMING  BIRD.  This  beautiful  bird, 
which  is  the  fmalleft  of  the  feathered  inhabitants  of 
the  air,  is  about  the  third  part  the  fize'  of  a  wren 


316  C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVELS. 

and  is  fhaped  extremely  like  it.  Irs  legs,  which 
are  about  an  inch  long,  appear  like  two  fmall 
needles,  and  its  body  is  proportionable  to  them. 
But  its  plumage  exceeds  defcription.  On  its  head 
it  has  a  fmall  tuft  of  a  jetty,  ihining  black ;  the 
breait  of  it  is  red,  the  belly  white,  the  back,  wings, 
and  tail  of  the  fincft  pale  green ;  and  fmall  fpecks 
of  gold  are  Scattered  with  inexpremble  grace  over 
the  whole :  befides  this,  an  almoft  imperceptible 
dcwn  foftcns  the  colours,  and  produces  the  mod 
plealing  (hades.  With  its  bill,  which  is  of  the 
fame  diminutive  fize  as  the  other  parts  of  its  body, 
it  extracts  from  the  flowers  a  moifture  which  is  its 
nouriihment;  over  thefe  it  hovers  like  a  bee,  but 
never  lights  on  them,  moving  at  the  fame  time  its 
wings  with  fuch  velocity  that  the  motion  of  them 
is  imperceptible;  notwithstanding  which  they  make 


hur* 
name, 


a  humming  noiie,    from    whence    it    receives    us 


Of    the    FISHES    which   are  found   in   the 
Waters  of  the   Mississippi. 


I  have  already  given  a  defcription  of  thofe  that  are 
taken  in  the  great  lakes. 

The  Sturgeon,  the  Pout  or  Cat  Fifh,  the  Pike, 
the  Carp,  and  the  Chub. 

The  STURGEON.  The  frefh  water  fturgcon 
is  fhaped  in  no  other  rcfpect  like  thofe  taken  near 
the  lea,  except  in  the  formation  of  its  head  and 
tails  which  are  fafhioned  in  the  fame  manner,  but 
the  body  is  net  fo  angulated,  nor  are  there  fo  many 
hcr::y  fcales  about  it  as  on  the  latter.  Its  length 
is  generally  about  two  feet  and  a  half  or  three  feet 
longi  but  in  circumference  not  proportionable,  be- 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  3i7 

ing  a  Gender  fifh.  The  fiefh  is  exceedingly  delicate 
and  finely  flavored ;  I  caught  fome  in  the  head  wa- 
ters of  the  river  St.  Croix  that  far  exceeded  trout. 
The  manner  of  taking  them  is  by  watching  them 
as  they  lie  under  the  banks  in  a  clear  ftream,  and 
darting  at  them  with  a  fifh-fpear;  for  they  will  not 
take  a  bait.  There  is  alfo  in  the  Miffiffippi,  and 
there  only,  another  fort  than  the  fpecies  I  have  def- 
cribed,  which  is  fimilar  to  it  in  every  refpecl,  ex- 
cept that  the  upper  jaw  extends  fourteen  or  fifteen 
inches  beyond  the  under;  this  extenfive  jaw,  which 
is  of  a  griftly  fubftance,  is  three  inches  and  a  half 
broad,  and  continues  of  that  breadth,  fomewhat  in 
the  fhape  of  an  oar,  to  the  end,  which  is  flat.  The 
flefh  of  this  fifh,  however,  is  not  to  be  compared 
•svith  the  other  foit,  and  is  not  fo  much  efleemed 
even  by  the  Indians. 

The  CAT  FISH.  This  fifh  is  about  eighteen 
inches  long;  of  a  brownifh  colour,  and  without 
fcales.  It  has  a  large  round  head,  from  whence  it 
receives  its  name,  on  different  parts  of  which  grow 
three  or  four  flrong,  fharp  horns  about  two  inches 
long.  Its  fins  are  alfo  very  bony  and  flrong,  and 
without  great  care  will  pierce  the  hands  of  thofe 
who  take  them.  It  weighs  commonly  about  five 
or  fix  pounds;  the  flefh  of  it  is  exceflively  fat  and 
lufcious,  and  greatly  refembles  that  of  an  eel  in  its 
flavor. 

The  CARP  and  CHUB  are  much  the  fame  as 
thofe  in  England,  and  nearly  about  the  fame  in  fize. 


OF     SERPENTS. 

The  Rattle  Snake,  the   Long  Black  Snake,  the 
Wall  or  Houfe  Adder,  the  Striped  or  Garter  Snake, 


3i8  CARVER'S      TRAVELS. 

the  Water  Snake,  the  Hiding  Snake,  the  Green 
Snake,  the  Thorn-tail  Snake,  the  Speckled  Snake, 
the  Ring  Snake,  the  Two-headed  Snake. 

The  RATTLE  SNAKE.  There  appears  to 
be  two  fpecies  of  this  reptile;  one  of  which  is  com- 
monly termed  the  Black,  and  the  other  the  Yellow; 
and  of  thefc  the  latter  is  generally  confidered  as  the 
largeft.  At  their  full  growth  they  are  upwards  of 
five  feet  long,  and  the  middle  part  of  the  body,  ac 
which  it  is  of  the  greateft  bulk,  meafures  about  nine 
inches  round.  From  that  part  it  gradually  decrea- 
fes  both  towards  the  head  and  the  tail.  The  neck 
is  proportionabiy  very  fmall,  and  the  head  broad 
and  dtprefTed.  Thefe  are  of  a  light  brown  colour, 
the  iris  of  the  eye  red,  and  all  the  upper  part  of  the 
body  brown,  mixed  with  a  ruddy  yellow,  and  che- 
quered wich  many,  regular  lines  of  a  deep  black, 
gradually  fhading  towards  a  gold  colour.  In  fhort 
the  whole  of  this  dangerous  reptile  is  very  beautiful, 
and  could  it  be  viewed  with  lefs  terror,  fuch  a  va- 
riegated arrangement  of  colours  would  be  extremely 
pleafing.  But  thefe  are  only  to  be  feen  in  their 
higheft  perfection  at  the  time  this  creature  is  ani- 
mated by  refentment;  then  every  tint  rufhes  from 
its  fubcutaneous  recefs,  and  gives  the  furface  of  the 
fkin  a  deeper  (lain.  The  belly  is  of  a  palifh  blue, 
which  grows  fuller  as  it  approaches  the  fides,  and 

O  A      A  * 

is  at  length  intermixed  with  the  colour  of  the  upper 
part.  The  rattle  at  its  tail,  from  which  it  receives 
its  name,  is  compofed  of  a  firm,  dry,  calluos,  or 
horny  fubftance  of  a  light  brown,  and  confifts  of  a 
number  of  cells  which  articulate  one  within  another, 
like  joints;  and  which  increafes  every  year,  and 
make  known  the  age  of  the  creature.  Thefe  arti- 
culations being  very  loofe,  the  included  points 
ftrike  again  ft  the  inner  furface  of  the  concave 
parts  or  rings  into  which  they  are  admitted,  and 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 


3*9 


as  the  fnake  vibrates,  or  makes  its  tail,  make  a 
rattling  noife.  This  alarm  is  always  given  when  it 
is  apprehenfive  of  danger ;  and  in  an  inftant  af- 
ter forms  itfelf  into  a  fpiral  wreath ;  in  the  cen- 
tre of  which  appears  the  head  erect,  and  breath- 
ing forth'  vengeance  again  either  man  cr  bead  that 
fhall  dare  to  come  near  it.  In  this  attitude  he  awaits 
the  approach  of  his  enemies,  rattling  his  tail  as 
he  fees  or  hears  them  coming  on.  By  this  timely  inti- 
mation, which  heaven  feems  to  have  provided  as  a 
means  to  counteract  the  mifchief  this  venomous  rep- 
tile would  otherwife  be  the  perpetrator  of,  the  un- 
wary traveller  is  apprized  of  his  danger,  and  has  an 
opportunity  of  avoiding  it.  It  is  however  to  be  cb- 
ferved,  that  it  never  acts  offcnfively ;  it  neither 
purfues  nor  flies  from  any  thing  that  approaches  it, 
but  lies  in  the  pofition  described,  rattling  his  tail,  as 
if  reluctant  to  hurt.  The  teeth  with  which  this 
ferpent  effects  his  poifonous  purpofes  are  not  thofe 
he  makes  life  of  on  ordinary  occafions,  they  are  only 
two  in  number,  very  fmail  and  fharp  pointed.,  and 
fixed  in  a  finewy  fubftance  that  lies  near  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  upper  jaw,  refembling  the  claws  of  a 
cat  -,  at  the  root  of  each  of  thefe,  which  might  be 
extended,  contracted,  or  entirely  hidden,  as  need 
requires,  are  two  fmall  bladders  which  nature  has 
to  conftructed,  that  at  the  fame  inftant  an  incifion  is 
made  by  the  teeth,  a  drop  of  a  greenifh,  poifonous 
liquid  enters  the  wound,  and  taints  with  its  deftruc- 
tive  quality  the  whole  mafs  of  blood.  In  a  moment 
the  unfortunate  victim  of  its  wrath  feels  a  chilly  tre- 
mor run  through  all  his  frame -,  a  fwelling  immedi- 
ately begins  on  the  fpot  where  the  teeth  had  entered, 
which  fpreads  by  degrees  over  the  whole  body,  and 
produces  on  every  part  of  the  fkin  the  variegated 
hue  of  the  fnake.  The  bite  of  this  reptile  is  more 
or  lefs  venomous,  according  to  the  fcafon  of  the 
year  in  which  it  is  given.     In  the  dog-  days  it  often 


i±o  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

proves  initantly  mortal,  and  efpecially  if  the  wound 
is  made  among  the  finews  iituated  in  the  back  part 
of  the  leg,  above  the  heel  -,  but  in  the  fpring,  in 
autumn,  or  during  a  cool  day  which  might  happen 
in  the  fummer,  its  bad  effects  are  to  be  prevented 
by  the  immediate  application  of  proper  remedies ; 
and  thefe  Providence  has  bounteoufly  fupplied,  by 
caufing  the  Rattle  Snake  Plantain,  an  approved  an- 
tidote to  the  poifon  of  this  creature,  to  grow  in  great 
prcfufion  wherever  they  are  to  be  met  with.  There 
are  likewife  feveral  other  remedies  befides  this,  for 
the  venom  of  its  bite.  A  decoction  made  of  the 
buds  or  bark  of  the  white  afh,  taken  internally,  pre- 
vents its  pernicious  effects.  Salt  is  a  newly  difco- 
vered  remedy,  and  if  applied  immediately  to  the 
part,  or  the  wound  be  warned  with  brine,  a  cure 
might  be  affured.  The  fat  of  the  reptile  alio  rub- 
bed on  it  is  frequently  found  to  be  very  efficacious. 
But  though  the  lives  of  the  perfons  who  have  been 
bitten  might  be  preferved  by  thefe,  and  their  health 
in  fome  degree  rcftored,  yet  they  annually  experi- 
ence a  (light  return  of  the  dreadful  fymptoms  about 
the  time  they  received  the  inftillation.  However 
remarkable  it  may  appear,  it  is  certain,  that  though 
the  venom  of  this  creature  affects,  in  a  greater  or 
lefs  degree,  ail  animated  nature,  the  hog  is  an  ex- 
ception to  the  rule,  as  that  animal  will  readily  de- 
ftroy  them  without  dreading  their  poifonous  fangs, 
and  fatten  on  their  flefh.  It  has  been  often  obferved, 
and  I  can  confirm  the  obfervation,  that  the  Rattle 
Snake  is  charmed  with  any  harmonious  founds,  whe- 
ther vocal  or  inilrumental  j  I  have  many  times  ken 
them,  even  when  they  have  been  enraged,  place 
themfelves  in  a  liftening  pofture,  and  continue  im- 
movably attentive  and  fufceptible  of  delight  all  the 
time  the  mufic  has  laded.  I  mould  have  remarked, 
that  when  the  Rattle  Snake  bites,  it  drops  its  under 
jaw,  and  holding  the  upper  jaw  erect,  throws  itfclf 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  3»i 

in  a  curve  line,  with  great  force,  and  as  quick  as 
lightning,  on  the  object  of  its  refentment.  In  a 
moment  after,  it  returns  again  to  its  de  fen  five  pof- 
ture,  having  difengaged  its  teeth  from  the  wound 
with  great  celerity,  by  means  of  the  pofition  in 
which  it  had  placed  its  head  when  it  made  the  attack. 
It  never  extends  itfelf  to  a  greater  diftance  than  half 
its  length  will  reach,  and  though  it  fometimes  re- 
peats the  blow  two  or  three  times,  it  as  often  returns 
with  a  fudden  rebound  to  its  former  date.  The 
Black  Rattle  Snake  differs  in  no  other  refpect  from 
the  Yellow,  than  in  being  rather  fmailer,  and  in  the 
variegation  of  its  colours,  which  are  exactly  revered: 
one  is  black  where  the  other  is  yellowy  and  vice 
verfa.  They  are  equally  venomous.  It  is  not  known 
how  thefc  creatures  engender;  I  have  often  found 
the  eggs  of  feveral  other  fpecies  of  the  fnake,  but 
notwithstanding  no  one  has  taken  more  pains  to  ac- 
quire a  per  feci:  knowledge  of  every  property  ofthefe 
reptiles  than  myfelf,  I  never  could  difcover  the 
manner  in  which  they  bring  forth  their  young.  I 
once  killed  a  female  that  had  feventy  young  ones  in 
its  belly,  but  thefe  were  perfectly  formed,  and  I  faw 
them  juft  before  retire  to  the  mouth  of  their  mother 
as  a  place  of  fecurity,  on  my  approach.  The  galls 
of  the  ferpent,  mixed  with  chalk,  are  formed  into 
little  balls,  and  exported  from  America,  for  medical 
purpofes.  They  are  of  the  nature  of  Gafcoign's 
powders,  and  are  an  excellent  remedy  for  complaints 
incident  to  children.  The  flefh  of  the  fnake  alfo 
dried,  and  made  into  broth,  is  much  more  nutritive 
than  that  of  vipers,  and  very  efficacious  againft  con- 
sumptions. 

'  The  LONG  BLACK  SNAKE  thefe  are  alfo  of 
two  forts,  both  of  which  are  exactly  fimilar  in  fhape 
and   fize,  only   the  belly  of  one  is  a  light  red,  the 

Sf 


3«s  C  A  R  V  E  R's     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

other  a  faint  blue  ;  all  the  upper  parts  of  their  bodies 
are  black  and  fcaly.  They  are  in  general  from  fix 
to  eight  feet  in  length,  and  carry  their  heads,  as 
they  crawl  along,  about  a  foot  and  a  half  from  the 
ground.  They  eafily  climb  the  higheft  trees  in  pur- 
suit of  birds  andfquirrels,  which  are  their  chief  food; 
and  thefe,  it  is  faid,  they  charm  by  their  looks,  and 
render  incapable  of  efcaping  from  them.  Their  ap- 
pearance carries  terror  with  it  to  thofe  who  are  un- 
acquainted with  their  inability  to  hurt,  but  they  are 
perfectly  inoffenfive  and  free  from  venom. 

The  STRIPED  or  GARTER  SNAKE  is  exact- 
ly the  fame  as  that  fpecies  found  in  other  cli- 
mates. 

'The  WATER  SNAKE  is  much  like  the  Rattle 
Snake  in  fhape  and  fize,  but  is  not  endowed  with 
the  fame  venomous  powers,  being  quite  harmlefs. 

The  HISSING  SNAKE  I  have  already  parti- 
cularly defcribed,  when  I  treated,  in  my  Journal,  of 
Lake  Eric. 

The  GREEN  SNAKE  is  about  a  foot  and  an 
half  long,  and  in  colour  fo  near  to  grafs  and  herbs, 
that  it  cannot  be  difcovered  as  it  lies  on  the  ground  ; 
happily,  however,  it  is  free  from  venom,  otherwife 
it  would  do  an  infinite  deal  of  mifchief,  as  thofe  who 
pais  through  the  meadows,  not  being  able  to  per- 
ceive it,  are  deprived  of  the  power  of  avoiding 
it. 

The  THORN-TAIL  SNAKE.  This  reptile  is 
found  in  many  parts  of  America,  but  is  very  feldom 
to  be  (een.  It  is  of  a  middle  fize,  and  receives  its 
name  from  a  thorn-like  dart  in  its  tail,  with  which  it 
i*  faid  to  inflict  a  mortal  wound. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  323 

The  SPECKLED  SNAKE  is  an  aqueous  reptile 
about  two  feet  and  an  half  in  length,  but  without 
venom.  Its  fkin,  which  is  brown  and  white,  with 
fome  fpots  of  yellow  in  it,  is  ufed  by  the  Americans 
as  a  cover  for  the  handles  of  whips,  and  it  renders 
them  very  pleafing  to  the  light. 

The  RING  SNAKE  is  about  twelve  inches  long; 
the  body  of  it  is  entirely  black,  except  a  yellow  ring 
which  it  has  about  its  neck,  and  which  appears  like 
a  narrow  piece  of  riband  tied  around  it.  This  odd 
reptile  is  frequently  found  in  the  bark  of  trees,  and 
among  old  logs. 

The  TWO-HEADED  SNAKE.  The  only 
make  of  this  kind  that  was  ever  feen  in  America, 
was  found  about  the  year  1762,  near  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  by  Mr.  Park,  a  gentleman  of  New-England, 
and  made  a  prefent  to  Lord  Amherft.  It  was  about 
a  foot  long,  and  in  fhape  like  the  common  make, 
but  it  was  furnifhed  with  two  heads  exactly  fimilar, 
which  united  at  the  neck.  Whether  this  was  a 
diilincl  fpecies  of  fnakes,  and  was  able  to  propagate 
its  likenefs,  or  whether  it  was  an  accidental  for- 
mation, I  know  not. 

The  TORTOISE  or  LAND  TURTLE.  The 
fhape  of  this  creature  is  fo  well  known  that  it  is  un- 
^lecefTary  to  defcribe  it.  There  are  feven  or  eight 
forts  of  them  in  America,  fome  of  which  are  beauti- 
fully variegated,  even  beyond  difcription.  The 
fhells  of  many  have  fpots  of  red  green,  and  yel- 
low in  them,  and  the  chequer  work  is  compofed  of 
fmall  fquares  curioufly  difpofed.  The  mod  beau- 
tiful fort  of  thefe  creatures  are  the  fmalleft,  and 
the  bite  of  them  is  faid  to  be  venomous. 


;?4  C  A  R  V  E  R's     T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

LIZARDS,  &i. 


Though  there  are  numerous  kinds  of  this  clafs  of 
the  animal  creation,  in  the  country  I  treat  of,  I  mail 
only  take  notice  of  two  of  them  ;  which  are  termed 
the  Swift  and  the  Slow  Lizard. 

The  SWIFT  LIZARD  is  about  fix  inches  long, 
and  has  four  legs  arid  a  tail.  Its  body,  which  is  blue, 
is  prettily  ttriped  with  dark  lines  fhaded  with  yellow  j 
but  the  end  of  the  tail  is  totally  blue.  It  is  lb  re- 
markable agile,  that  in  an  ihftant  it  is  out  of  fight, 
nor  can  its  movement  be  perceived  by  the  quicker! 
eye  i  fo  that  it  might  more  juftly  be  faid  to  vaniih, 
than  to  run  away.  This  fpecies  are  fuppofed  to  poi- 
fon  thofe  they  bite,  but  are  not  dangerous,  as  they 
never  attack  perfons  that  approach  them,  choofing 
rather  to  get  fuddenly  out  of  their  reach. 

The  SLOW  LIZARD  is  of  the  fame  fhape  as 
the  Swift,  but  its  colour  is  brown;  it  is  moreover  of 
an  oppofite  difpofition,  being  altogether  as  flow  in  its 
movements  as  the  other  is  fwift.  It  is  remarkable 
that  thefe  lizards  are  extremely  brittle,  and  will  break 
off  near  the  tail  as  eafily  as  an  icicle. 

Among  the  reptiles  of  North  America,  there  is  a 
fpecies  of  the  toad,  termed  the  TREE  TOAD,  which  ' 
is  nearly  the  fame  fhape  as  the  common  fort,  but 
fmaller  and  with  longer  claws.  It  is  ufually  found 
on  trees,  (licking  ciofe  to  the  bark,  or  lying  in  the 
crevices  of  it  -,  and  fo  nearly  does  it  refemble  the 
colour  of  the  tree  to  which  it  cleaves,  that  it  is  with 
difficulty  diilinguiihed  from  it.  Thefe  creatures 
are  only  heard  during  the  twilight  of  the  morning  and 
evening,  or   ittft  before  and  after  a  fhower  of  rain, 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  325 

when  they  make  a  croaking  noife  fomewhat  ihriller 
than  that  of  a  frog,  which  might  be  heard  to  a  great  dif- 
tance.  They  infeft  the  woods  in  fuch  numbers,  that 
their  refponfive  notes  at  thefe  times  make  the  air 
refound.  It  is  only  a  fummer  animal  and  never  to 
be  found  during  the  winter. 


INSECTS, 


The  interior  parts  of  North- America  abound  with 
nearly  the  fame  infects  as  are  met  with  in  the  fame 
parallels  of  latitude  ;  and  the  fpecies  of  them  are  fo 
numerous  and  diversified  that  even  a  fuccinct  difcrip- 
tion  of  the  whole  of  them  would  fill  a  volume  ;  I  fhall 
therefore  confine  myfelf to  a  few,  which  I  believe  are 
almoft  peculiar  to  this  country  ;  the  Silk  Worm,  the 
Tobacco  Worm,  the  Bee,  the  Lightning  Bug,  the 
Water  Bug,  and  the  Horned  Bug. 

The  SILK  WORM  is  nearly  the  fame  as  thofe  of 
France  and  Italy,  but  will  not  produce  the  fame  quan- 
tity of  filk. 

The  TOBACCO  WORM  is  a  caterpillar  of  the 
fize  and  figure  of  a  filk  worm,  it  is  of  a  fine  fea  green 
colour,  on  its  rump  it  has  a  fling  or  horn  near  a  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  long. 

The  bees  in  America  principally  lodge  their  honey 
in  the  earth,  to  fecure  it  from  the  ravages  of  the 
bears,  who  are  remarkably  fond  of  it. 

The  LIGHTNING  BUG  or  FIRE  FLY  is  about 
the  fize  of  a  bee,  but  it  is  of  the  beetle  kind,  having 
like  that  infect  two  pair  of  wings,  the  upper  of  which 
are  of  a  firm  texture,  to  defend  it  from  danger.  When 


?z6  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

it  flies,  and  the  wings  are  expanded,  there  is  under 
thefe   a  kind  of  coat,  constructed  alio  like   wings, 
which  is  luminous  ;  and  as  the  infect  pafTes  on,  caufes 
all  the  hinder  part  of  its  body  to  appear  like  a  bright 
fiery   coal.     Having  placed  one  of  them  on  your 
hand,  the  under  part  only  fhines,  and   throws  the 
light  on  the  fpace  beneath;  but  as  foon  as  it  fpreads 
its  upper  wings  to  fly  away,  the  whole  body  which 
lies    behind   them   appears  illuminated  all  around. 
The   light   it  gives   is  not  conftanriy  of  the  fame 
magnitude,  even  when  it  flies;  but  feems  to  depend 
on  the   expanficn  or  contraction  of  the    luminous 
coat  or  wings,  and  is  very  different  from  that  emit- 
ted in  a  dark  night  by  dry  wood  or   fome  kinds  of 
fifh,    it   having  much   more  the  appearance  of  real 
fire.     They  feem  to  be  fenfible  ot  the  power  they 
are    pollened   of,    and  to  know   the  moil  fuitable 
time    for  exerting  it,  as  in  a  very  dark  night  they 
are  much  more   numerous  than  at   any  other  time. 
They  are  only  fetn  during  the  fummer  months  of 
June,  July,  and  Auguft,  and  then  at  no  other  time 
but  in  the  night.  Whether  from  their  colour,  which 
is  a  dufky  brown,  they  are  not  then  difcernible,  or 
from   their  retiring  to  holes  and  crevices,  I  know 
not,  but  they  are  never  to  be  difcovered  in  the  day. 
They  chiefly   are   feen  in  low,  fwampy  land,  and 
appear  like   innumerable  tranilent  gleams  of  light. 
In  dark  nights  when  there  is   much  lightning  with- 
out rain,  they  feem  as  if  they  v/iihed  either  to  imi- 
tate' or  afiift  the  flames ;  for  during  the  intervals, 
they  are  uncommonly  agile,  and  endeavour  to  throw 
out  every   ray  they  can  collect.     Notwithstanding 
this  effulgent  appearance,  thefe  infects  are  perfectly 
harmlefs,  you  may  permit  them  to  crawl  upon  your 
hand,  when  five  or  "fix,  if  they  freely  exhibit  their 
glow  together,  will  enable  you  to  read  almoft  the 
imalleft  print. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  327 

The  WATER  BUG  is  of  a  brown  colour,  about 
the  fize  of"  a  pea,  and  in  fhape  nearly  oval  -,  it  has 
many  legs,  by  means  of  which  it  pafTes  over  the 
furface  of  the  water  with  fuch  incredible  fwiftnefs, 
that  it  feems  to  Aide  or  dart  itfelf  along. 

The  HORNED  BUG,  or  as  it  is  fometimcs 
termed  the  STAG  BEETLE,  is  of  a  dufky  brown 
colour  nearly  approaching  to  black,  about  an  inch  and 
an  half  long,  and  half  an  inch  broad.  It  has  two  large 
horns,  which  grow  on  each  fide  of  the  head,  and 
meet  horizontally,  and  with  thefe  it  pinches  very 
hardj  they  are  branched  like  thofe  of  a  flag,  from 
whence  it  receives  its  name.  They  fly  about  in 
the  evening,  and  prove  very  trouble fome  to  thofe 
who  are  in  the  fields  at  that  time. 

I  mull  not  omit  that  the  LOCUST  is  a  fepten- 
nial  infect,  as  they  arc  only  feen,  a  fmall  number 
of  ftragglers  excepted,  every  feven  years,  when 
they  infeft  thefe  parts  and  the  interior  colonies  in 
large  fwarms,  and  do  a  great  deal  of  mifchief.  The 
years  when  they  thus  arrive  are  denominated  the 
locuft  vears. 


328      CARVER's  TRAVELS, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


Of  the   Trees,  Shrubs,   Roots,    Herbs,    Flowers,    &c. 


J[  SHALL  here  obferve  the  fame  method 
that  I  have  purfued  in  the  preceding  chapter,  and 
having  given  a  lilt  of  the  trees,  &c.  which  are  na- 
tives of  the  interior  parts  of  North-America,  par- 
ticularize fuch  only  as  differ  from  the  produce  of 
other  countries,  or,  being  little  known,  have  not 
been  defcribed. 


OF     TREES 


The  Oak,  the  Pine  Tree,  the  Maple,  the  Afh, 
the  Hemlock,  the  Bafs  or  White  Wood,  the 
Cedar,  the  Elm,  the  Birch,  the  Fir,  the  Locuft 
Tree,  the  Popbr,  the  Wickopick  or  Suckwick, 
the  Spruce,  the  Horn-beam,  and  the  Button  Wood 
Tree. 

The  OAK.  There  are  feveral  forts  of  oaks  in 
thefe  parts  i  the  black,  the  white,  the  red,  the 
yellow,  the  grey,  the  fwamp  oak,  and  the  chefnut 
oak:  the  five  former  vary  but  little  in  their  external 
•appearance,  the  fhape  of  the  leaves,  and  the  colour 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


3-9 


oF  the  bark  being  fo  much  alike,  that  they  are 
fcarcely  diftinguifhablej  but  the  body  of  the  tree 
when  fawed  difcovers  the  variation,  which  chiefly 
confifts  in  the  colour  of  the  wood,  they  being  all 
very  hard,  and  proper  for  building.  The  lwamp 
oak  differs  materially  from  the  others  both  in  the 
fhape  of  the  leaf,  which  is  fmaller,  and  in  the  bark, 
which  is  fmoother;  and  likewife  as  it  grows  oniy  in 
a  moift,  gravelly  foil.  It  is  efteemed  the  toughen; 
of  all  woods,  being  fo  ftrong  yet  pliable,  that  it  is 
often  made  ufe  of  inftead  of  whalebone,  and  is 
equally  ferviceable.  The  chefnut  oak  alfo  is  greatly 
different  from  the  others,  particularly  in  the  maps 
of  the  leaf,  which  much  refembles  that  of  the  chef- 
nut-tree,  and  for  this  reafon  it  is  fo  denominated. 
It  is  neither  fo  ftrong  as  the  former  fpeeies,  nor  fo 
tough  as  the  latter,  but  is  of  a  nature  proper  to  be 
fplit  into  rails  for  fences,  in  which  ftate  it  will  endure 
a  confiderable  time. 

The  PINE  TREE.  That  fpeeies  of  the  pine 
tree  peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  continent  is  the 
white,  the  quality  of  which  I  need  not  defcribe,  2s 
the  timber  of  it  is  fo  well  known  under  the  name  of 
deals.  It  grows  here  in  great  plenty,  to  an  amazing 
height  and  fize,  and  yields  an  excellent  turpentine, 
though  not  in  fuch  quantities  as  thofe  in  the  nor- 
thern parts  ofEurope. 

The  MAPLE.  Of  this  tree  there  are  two  forts, 
the  hard  and  the  foft,  both  of  which  yield  a  lufcious 
juice,  from  which  the  Indians,  by  boiling,  make 
very  good  fugar.  The  fap  of  the  former  is  much 
richer  and  fweeter  than  the  latter,  but  the  foft  pro- 
duces a  greater  quantity.  The  wood  of  the  hard 
maple  is  very  beautifully  veined  and  curled,  and 
when  wrought  into  cabinets,  tables,  gunflocks,  &c. 
T  t 


3$o  CARVE  R's    TRAVELS. 

is  greatly  valued.  That  of  the  foft  fort  differs  in 
its  texture,  wanting  the  variegated  grain  of  the 
hard;  it  alfo  grows  more  ftraight  and  free  from 
branches,  2nd  is  more  eafily  fplit.  It  like  wife  may- 
be diitinguifhed  from  the  hard,  as  this  grows  in 
meadows  and  low  lands,  that  on  the  hills  and  up- 
lands. The  leaves  are  fhaped  alike,  but  thofe  of 
the  foft  maple  are  much  the  largeft,  and  of  a  deeper 
green. 

The  ASH.  There  are  fever al  forts  of  this  tree 
in  thefe  parts,  but  that  to  which  I  fhail  confine  my 
defcription,  is  the  yellow  afh,  which  is  only  found 
near  the  head  branches  of  the  Mifliflippi.  This 
tree  grows  to  an  amazing  height,  and  the  body  of 
it  is  fo  firm  and  found,  that  the  French  traders  who 
go  into  that  country  from  Louifiana,  to  purchafe 
furs,  make  of  them  periaguays;  this  they  do  by 
excavating  them  by  fire,  and  when  they  are  com- 
pleted, convey  in  them  the  produce  of  their  trade 
to  New-Orleans,  where  they  find  a  good  market 
both  for  their  velTels  and  cargoes.  The  wood  of 
this  tree  greatly  refembles  that  of  the  common  afh  5 
but  it  might  be  diftinguifhed  from  any  other  tree 
by  its  barks  the  rofs  or  outfide  bark  being  near 
eight  inches  thick,  and  indented  with  furrows  more 
than  fix  inches  deep,  which  make  thofe  that  are 
arrived  to  a  great  bulk  appear  uncommonly  rough; 
and  by  this  peculiarity  they  may  be  readily  known. 
The  rind  or  infide  bark  is  of  the  fame  thicknefs  as 
that  of  other  trees,  but  its  colour  is  a  fine  bright 
yellow,  infomuch  that  if  it  is  but  (lightly  handled 
it  will  leave  a  ftain  on  the  fingers,  which  cannot 
eafily  be  wafhed  away;  and  if  in  the  fpring  you  peel 
off  the  bark,  and  touch  the  fap,  which  then  rifes 
between  that  and  the  body  of  the  tree,  it  will  leave  fo 
deep  a. tincture  that  it  will  require  three  or  four  days 
to  wear   it   off.     Many  ufeftil   qualities  belonging 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  231 

to  this  tree  I  doubt  not  will  be  difcovered  in 
time,  befides  its  proving  a  valuable  acquifition  to 
the  dyer. 

The  HEMLOCK  TREE  grows  in  every  part 
of  America,  in  a  greater  or  lefs  degree.  It  is  an 
ever -green  of  a  very  large  growth,  and  has  leaves 
fomewhat  like  that  of  the  yew;  it  is  however  quite 
ufelefs,  and  only  an  incumbrance  to  the  ground, 
the  wood  being  of  a  very  coarfe  grain,  and  full  of 
wind-makes  or  cracks. 

The  BASS  or  WHITE  WOOD  is  a  tree  of  a 
middling  fize,  and  the  whiteft  and  fofteft  wood 
that  grows  i  when  quite  dry  it  fvvims  on  the  water 
like  a  cork 5  in  the  fettlements  the  turners  make  of 
it  bowls,  trenchers,  and  dimes,  which  wear  fmooch, 
and  will  lad  a  long  time  -,  but  when  applied  to  any 
other  purpofc  it  is  far  from  durable. 

The  WICKOPICK  or  SUCKWICK  appears  to 
be  afpecies  of  the  white  wood,  and  is  diftinguiilied 
from  it  by  a  peculiar  quality  in  the  bark,  which 
when  pounded,  and  moiftened  with  a  little  water, 
inftantly  becomes  a  matter  of  the  confidence  and 
nature  of  fize.  With  this  the  Indians  pay  their 
canoes,  and  it  greatly  exceeds  pitch,  or  anv 
other  material  ufually  appropriated  to  that  pur- 
pofe;  for  befides  its  adhelive  quality,  it  is  of  fo 
oily  a  nature,  that  the  water  cannot  penerate  through 
it,  and  its  repelling  power  abates  not  for  a  conside- 
rable time. 

The  BUTTON  WOOD  is  a  tree  of  the  largefl 
fize,  and  might  be  diftinguifhed  by  its  bark,  which 
is  quite  fmooth  and  prettily  mottled.  The  wood  is 
very  proper  for  the  ufe  of  cabinet-makers.  It  if 
covered  wTith  fmall  hard  burs.,  which  fpnng  frorr 


332  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

its  branches,  that  appear  not  unlike   buttons,  and 
from  thefe  I  believe  it  receives  its  name. 


NUT     TREES. 


The  Butter  or  Oil  Nut,  the  Walnut,  the  Hazel 
Nut,  the  Beech  Nut,  the  Pecan  Nut,  the  Chefnut, 
the  Hickory. 

The  BUTTER  or  OIL  NUT.  As  no  men- 
tion has  been  made  by  any  authors  of  this  nut,  I 
mall  be  the  more  particular  in  my  account  of  it. 
The  tree  grows  in  meadows  where  the  foil  is  rich 
and  warm.  The  body  of  it  feldom  exceeds  a  yard 
in  circumference,  is  full  of  branches,  the  twigs  of 
which  are  fhort  and  blunt,  and  its  leaves  refemblc 
thole  of  the  walnut.  The  nut  has  a  fhell  like  that 
fruit,  which  when  ripe  is  more  furrowed,  and"  more 
cafily  cracked  -,  it  is  alfo  much  longer  and  larger 
than  a  walnut,  and  contains  a  greater  quantity  of 
kernel,  which  is  very  oily,  and  of  a  rich,  agreeable 
flavor.  I  am  perfuaded  that  a  much  purer  oil  than 
that  of  olives  might  be  extracted  from  this  nut. 
The  inficle  bark  of  this  tree  dyes  a  good  purple;  and 
it  is  faid,  varies  in  its  made,  being  either  darker  or 
lighter,  according  to  the  month  in  which  it  is  ga- 
thered. 

The  BEECH  NUT.  Though  this  tree  grows 
exactly  like  that  of  the  fame  name  in  Europe,  yet 
it  produces  nuts  equally  as  good  as  chefnuts ;  on 
which  bears,  martens,  fqirrels,  partridges,  turkeys, 
and  many  other  beaft  and  birds  feed.  The  nut  is 
contained,  whilft  growing,  in  an  outfide  cafe,  like 
that  of  a  chefnut,  but  not  lb  prickly  -,  and  the  coat 
of  the  infide  fhell  is  alfo  fmooth  like  that  -,  only  its 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


333 


form  is  nearly  triangular.  Vaft  quantities  of  them 
lie  fcattered  about  in  the  woods,  and  fupply  with 
food  great  numbers  of  the  creatures  juft  mentioned. 
The  leaves,  which  are  white,  continue  on  the  trees 
during  the  whole  winter.  A  decoction  made  of  them 
is  a  certain  and  expeditious  cure  for  wounds  which 
arife  from  burning  or  fcalding,  as  well  as  a  reftorative 
for  thofe  members  that  are  nipped  by  the  froft. 

The  PECAN  NUT  is  fomewhat  of  the  walnut 
kind,  but  rather  fmaller  than  a  walnut,  being  about 
the  fize  of  a  middling  acorn,  and  of  an  oval  form ; 
the  fhell  is  eafily  cracked,  and  the  kernel  fhaped  like 
that  of  a  walnut.  This  tree  grows  chiefly  near  the 
Illinois  River. 

The  HICKORY  is  alfo  of  the  walnut  kind,  and 
bears  a  fruit  nearly  like  that  tree.  There  are  feveral 
forts  of  them,  which  vary  only  in  the  colour  of  the 
wood.  Being  of  a  very  tough  nature,  the  wood  is 
generally  ufed  for  the  handles  of  axes,  &g.  It  is 
alfo  very  good  fire-wood,  and  as  it  burns,  an  excel- 
lent fugar  diltils  from  it. 

FRUIT     TREES. 


I  need  not  rxxobferve  that  thefe  are  all  the  fpon- 
taneous  productions  of  nature,  which  have  never 
received  the  advantages  of  ingrafting,  tranfplanting, 
or  manuring. 

The  Vine,  the  Mulberry  Tree,  the  Crab  Apple 
Tree,  the  Plum  Tree,  the  Cherry  Tree,  and  the 
Sweet  Gum  Tree. 


334  CARVER's      TRAVELS. 

The  VINE  is  very  common  here,  and  of  three 
kinds ;  the  firfl  fort  hardly  deferves  the  name  of  a 
grape;  the  fecorid  much  reft  en  bies  the  Burgundy 
grape,  and  if  expofed  to  the  fun,  a  good  wine  might 
be  ma  ie  from  them.  The  third  ibrt  refembles  Zarit 
currants,  which  are  fo  frequently  ufed  in  cakes,  &c. 
in  England,  and  if  proper  care  was  taken  of  them, 
would  be  equal,  if  not  fuperior,  to  thofe  of  that 
country. 

The  MULBERRY  TREE  is  of  two  kinds, 
red  and  white,  and  nearly  of  the  fame  fize  of  thofe 
of  France  and  Italy,  and  grow  in  fuch  plenty,  as  to 
feed  any  quantity  of  filk  worms. 

The  CRAB  APPLE  TREE  bears  a  fruit  that 
is  much  larger  and  better  flavored  than  thofe  of  Eu- 
rope. 

The  PLUM  TREE.  There  are  two  forts  of 
plums  in  this  country,  one  a  large  fort  of  a  purple 
caft  on  one  fide,  and  red  on  the  reverfe,  the  fecond 
totally  green,  and  much  fmailer.  Both  thefe  are  of 
a  good  flavor,  and  are  greatly  efleemed  by  the  Indi- 
ans, whofe  tafte  is  not  refined,  but  who  are  fatisfied 
with  the  productions  of  nature  in  their  unimproved 
ftate. 

The  CHERRY  TREE.  There  are  three  forts 
of  cherries  in  this  country  -,  the  black,  the  red,  and 
the  fand  cherry  -s  the  two  latter  may  with  more  pro- 
priety be  ranked  among  the  fhrubs,  as  the  bum  that 
bears  the  fand  cherries  almofl  creeps  along  the 
ground,  and  the  other  rifes  not  above  eight  or  ten 
feet  in  height ;  however  I  fhall  give  an  account  of 
them  all  in  this  place.  The  black  cherries  are  about 
the  fize  of  a  currant,  and  hang  in  clufters  like  grapes; 
the  trees  which  bear  them  being  very  fruitful,  they 
are  generally  loaded,  but  the  fruit  is  not  good  ta 


TRAVELS.  335 

tat,  however  they  give  an  agreeable  flavor  to  brandy, 
and  turn  it  to  the  colour  of  claret.  The  red  cherries 
grow  in  the  greateft  profuficn,  and  hang  in  bunches, 
like  the  black  fort  juft  dtferibed  j  fo  that  the  bufhes 
which  bear  them  appear  at  a  diftance  like  folid  bo- 
dies of  red  matter.  Some  people  admire  this  fruit, 
buL  they  partake  of  the  nature  and  tafle  of  allum, 
leaving  a  difagreeable  roughnefs  in  the  threat,  and 
being  very  altringent.  As  I  have  already  defcribed 
the  land  cherries,  which  greatly  exceed  the  two 
other  forts,  both  in  flavor  and  fize,  I  fhall  give  no 
further  defcription  of  them.  The  wood  of  the  black 
cherry  tree  is  very  ufeful,  and  works  well  into  cabi- 
net ware. 

The  SWEET  GUM  TREE  or  LIQUID  AM- 
BER, (Ccpalm)  is  not  only  extremly  common, 
but  it  affords  a  balm,  the  virtues  of  which  are  infi- 
nite. Its  bark  is  black  and  hard,  and  its  wood  fo 
tender  and  fupple,  that  when  the  tree  is  felled,  you 
may  draw  from  the  middle  of  it  rods  of  five  or  fix 
feet  in  length.  It  cannot  be  employed  in  building  or 
furniture,  as  it  warps  continually.  Its  leaf  is  indented 
with  five  points,  like  a  ftar.  This  balm  is  reckoned 
by  the  Indians  to  be  an  excellent  febrifuge,  and  ir. 
cures  wounds  in  two  or  three  days. 

SHRUBS. 


The  Willow,  Shin  Wood,  Shumack,  SafiTafras,  the 
Prickly  Afh,  Moofe  Wood,  Spoon  Wood,Large  El- 
der, Dwarf  Elder,  Poifonous  Elder,  Jimiper,  Shrub 
Oak,  Sweet  Fern,  the  Laurel,  the  Witch  Hazle, 
the  Myrtle  Wax  Tree,  Winter  Green,  the  Fever 
Bufh,  the   Cranberry  Bum,    the    Goofberry  Bufh, 


336  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

the  Current  Bum,    the  Whortle  Berry,    the  Raf 
berry,  the  Black  Berry,  and  the  Choak  Berry. 

The  WILLOW.  There  are  feveral  fpecies  of 
the  willow,  the  moft  remarkable  of  which  is  a  fmall 
fort  that  grows  on  the  banks  of  the  Mifliflippi,  and 
fome  other  places  adjacent.  The  bark  of  this  fhrub 
fupplies  the  beaver  with  its  winter  food;  and  where 
the  water  has  warned  the  foil  from  its  roots,  they 
appear  to  confift  of  fibres  interwoven  together  like 
thread,  the  colour  of  which  is  of  an  inexpreffibly 
tine  fcarlet;  with  this  the  Indians  tinge  many  of  the 
ornamental  parts  of  their  drefs. 

SHIN  WOOD.  This  extraordinary  fhrub  grows 
in  the  forefts,  and  rifing  like  a  vine,  runs  near  the 
ground  for  fix  or  eight  feet,  and  then  takes  root 
again  ;  in  the  fame  manner  taking  root,  and  fpring- 
ing  up  fucceffively,  one  (talk  covers  a  large  fpace; 
this  proves  very  troublefome  to  the  hafty  traveller, 
by  ftriking  againft  his  fhins,  and  entangling  his 
legs;  from  which  it  has  acquired  its  name. 

The  SASSAFRAS  is  a  wood  well  known  for  its 
medicinal  qualities.  It  might  with  equal  propriety 
be  termed  a  tree  as  a  fhrub,  as  it  fometimes  grows 
thirty  feet  high;  but  in  general  it  does  not  reach 
higher  than  thofe  of  the  ihrub  kind.  The  leaves, 
which  yield  an  agreeable  fragrance,  are  large,  and 
nearly  feparated  into  three  divifions.  It  bears  a 
reddifti  brown  berry,  of  the  fize  and  fhape  of  Pi- 
mento, and  which  is  fometimes  ufed  in  the  colonies 
as  a  fjbftitute  for  that  fpice.  The  bark  or  roots 
of  this  tree  is  infinitely  fuperior  to  the  wood  for  its 
ufe  in  medicine,  and  I  am  furprifed  it  is  fo  feldom 
to  be  met  with,  as  its  efficacy  is  fo  much  greater. 


CARVER's    TRAVELS.  ZTJ 

The  PRICKLY  ASH  is  a  fnrub  that  fometimes 
grows  to  the  height  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet,  and  has 
a  leaf  exactly  refembling  that  of  an  afh,  but  it  re- 
ceives the  epithet  to  its  name  from  the  abundance 
offhort  thorns  with  which  every  branch  is  covered, 
and  which  renders  it  very  troublefome  to  thofe  who 
pafs  through  the  (pot  where  they  grow  thick.  It 
alfo  bears  a  fcarlet  berry,  which  when  ripe,  has  a 
fiery  taite,  like  pepper.  The  bark  of  this  tree, 
particularly  the  bark  of  the  roots,  is  highly  ef- 
teemed  by  the  natives  for  its  medicinal  qualities.  I 
have  already  mentioned  one  infiance  of  its  efficacy, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  decoction  of  it  will 
expeditioufly  and  radically  remove  all  impurities  of 
the  blood. 

The  MOOSE  WOOD  grows  about  four  feet  high, 
and  is  very  full  of  branches  5  but  what  renders  it 
worth  notice  is  its  bark,  which  is  of  fo  ftrong  and 
pliable  a  texture,  that  being  peeled  oft  at  any  fea- 
fon,  and  twilled,  makes  equally  as  good  cordage 
as  hemp. 

The  SPOON  WOOD  is  a  fpecies  of  the  laurel, 
and  the  wood  when  fawed  relembles  box  wood. 

The  ELDER,  commonly  termed  the  poifonous  el- 
dcr,  nearly  refembles  the  other  forts  in  its  leaves 
and  branches,  but  it  grows  much  itraighter,  and  is 
only  found  in  fwamps  and  moid  foils.  This  (hrub 
is  endowed  with  a  very  extraordinary  quality,  that 
renders  it  poifonous  to  ibme  conintutions,  which 
it  affects  if  the  perfon  only  approaches  within  a  few 
yards  of  it,  whilll  others  may  even  chew  the  leaves 
or  the  rind  without  receiving  the  leal!"  detriment  from 
diem  j  the  pollen  however  is  not  mortal,  though  it 
operates  very  violently  on  the  infecttrd  perfon,  who&" 

U  u 


33S  C  A  R  V  E  R's    T  R  A  V  E  L  S. 

body  and  head  fwell  to  an  amazing  iize,  and  arc 
red  with  eruptions,  that  at  their  height  refem- 
I  x  the  confluent  fmall  pox.  As  it  grows  alio  in 
many  of  the  provinces,  the  inhabitants  cure  its  ve- 
nom by  drinking  faflron  tea,  and  anointing  the 
external  parts  with  a  mixture  compofed  of  cream 
and  rnarfb  mallows. 

The  SHRUB  OAK  is  exactly  fimilar  to  the  oak 
tree,  both  in  its  wood  and  leaves,  and  like  that  it 
bears  an  acorn,  but  it  never  riles  from  the  ground 
above  fojjr  or  five  feet,  growing  crooked  and  knotty. 
It  is  found  chiefly  on  a  dry,  gravelly  foil. 

The  WITCH  HAZLE  grows  very  bufhy, 
about  ten  fee:  high,  and  is  covered  early  in  May 
with  numerous  white  bloiloms.  When  this  fhrub 
is  in  bloom,  the  Indians  efceem  it  a  further  indica- 
tion that  the  frofr  is  entirely  gene,  and  that  they 
might  low  their  corn.  I:  has  been  faid,  that  it  is 
poffeiTed  of  the  power  of  attracting  gold  and  filver, 
and  that  twigs  of  it  are  made  uie  of  to  difcover 
where  the  veins  of  thefe  metals  lie  hid;  but  I  am 
apprehenfive  that  this  is  only  a  fallacious  ftory,  and 
nut  to  be  depended  on ;  however  that  fuppofition  has 
given  It  the  name  of  Witch  Hazle. 

The  MYRTLE  WAX  TREE  is  a  fhrub  about 
four  or  five  feet  high,  the  leaves  of  wdiich  are  larger 
than  thofe  of  the  common  myrtle,  but  they  fmell 
exactly  alike.  It  bears  its  fruit  in  bunches,  like  a 
nofegay,  rifing  from  the  fame  place  in  various  (talks,, 
about  two  inches  long:  at  the  end  of  each  of  thefe 
is  a  little  nut  containing  a  kernel,  which  is  wholly 
covered  with  a  gitiy  fubftance,  which  being  boiled 
in  water,  fwhns  on  the  furfacecfit,  and  becomes  a 
kind  of  green  wax;  this  is  more  valuable  than  bees- 
wax,   being   of  a  more   brittle  naiure,  but  mixed 


C  A  R  V  E  R's     TRAVEL  S.  339 

with  it  makes  a  good  candle,  which,  as  it  burns, 
fends  forth  an  agreeable  fcent, 

WINTER  GREEN.  This  is  an  ever  green,  of 
the  fpecies  of  the  myrtle,  and  is  found  on  dry  heathsj 
the  flowers  of  it  are  white,  and  in  the  form  of  a  role, 
but  not  larger  than  a  iilver  penny;  in  the  winter  it 
is  full  of  red  berries,  about  the  fize  of  a  floe,  which 
are  fmooth  and  round;  thefe  are  preferved  during 
the  fevere  feafon  by  the  fnow,  and  are  at  that  time 
in  the  higheft  perfection.  The  Indians  eat  thefe 
berries,  efteeming  them  very  balfamic,  and  invigo- 
rating to  the  ftornach.  The  people  inhabiting  the 
interior  colonies  iteep  both  the  fprigs  and  berries 
in  beer,  and  ufe  it  as  a  diet  drink  for  cleanfmg  the 
blood  from  fcorbutic  dilbrders. 

The  FEVER  BUSH  grows  about  Ave  or  fix 
feet  high;  its  leaf  is  like  that  of  a  lilach,  and  it 
bears  a  reddiih  berry  of  a  fpicy  flavor.  The  fralks 
of  it  are  exceifively  brittle.  A  decoction  of  the 
buds  or  wood  is  an  excellent  febrifuge,  and  from 
this  valuable  property  it  receives  its  name.  It  is 
an  ancient  Indian  remedy  for  all  inflammatory  com- 
plaints, and  likewife  much  efleemed  on  the  fame 
account,  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  parts  of 
the  colonies. 

The  CRANBERRY  BUSH.  Though  the  fruit 
of  this  bum  greatly  refemblesin  fize  and  appearance 
that  of  the  common  fort,  which  grows  on  a  fmall 
vine,  in  morafles  and  bogs,  yet  the  bufh  runs  to 
the  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet-,  but  it  is  very 
rarely  to  be  met  with.  As  the  meadow  cranberry, 
being  of  a  local  growth,  and  flouriiTiing  only  in 
morafles,  cannot  be  tranfplanted  or  cultivated,  the 
former,  if  removed  at  a  proper  feafon,  would  be  a 


3..?  CARVER'S    TRAVELS. 

valuable  acquifition  to  the  garden,  and  with  proper 
nurture  piove  equally  as  gcoJ,  if  not  better. 

The  CHOAK  BERRY.  The  fcrub  thus  term- 
ed by  the  natives  grows  about  five  or  fix  feet  high, 
ana  bears  a  berry  about  the  fize  of  a  floe,  of  a  jet 
black,  which  contains  feveral  fmall  feeds  within  the 
pulp.  The  juice  of  this  fruit,  though  not  of  a  dif- 
agreeable  flavor,  is  extremely  tart,  and  leaves  a 
ronghnefs  in  the  mouth  and  throat  when  eaten,  that 
has  gained  it  the  name  of  choak  berry. 


ROOTS     and     P  L  A  N  T  S. 

Elecampagne,  Spikenard,  Angelica,  Sarfapa- 
rilla,  Giniang,  Ground  Nuts,  Wijd  Potatoes,  li- 
quorice, Snake  Root,  Gold  Thread,  Solomon's 
Seal,  Devil's  Bite,  Blood  Root,  Onions,  Garlick, 
Wild  Parfnips,  Mandrakes,  Hellebore  White  and 
Black.  

SPIKENARD,  vulgarly  called  in  the  colonies 
Petty-Mcricl.  This  plant  appears  to  be  exactly 
the  fame  as  the  Afiatic  fpikenard,  fo  much  valued 
by  the  ancients.  It  grows  near  the  fides  of  brooks, 
in  rocky  places,  and  its  item,  which  is  about  the 
fize  of  a  goofe  quill,  fprings  up  like  that  of  angelica, 
reaching  about  a  foot  and  an  half  from  the  ground, 
It  bears  bunches  of  berries  in  all  refpecls  like  thofe 
of  the  elder,  only  rather  larger.  Thefe  are  of  fuch 
a  balfamic  nature,  that  when  irifufed  in  fpirits,  they 
make  a  moff  palataLle  and  reviving  cordial. 

SARSAPARILLA.  The  root  of  this  plant, 
-which  is  the  meft  tftimable  part  of  it,  is  about  the 
fize  of  a  goofe  quill,  and  runs  in  different  directions. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 


341 


j.wined  and  crooked  to  a  great  length  in  the  ground; 
from  the  principal  ftem  of  it  ipring  many  fmaller 
fibres,  all  of  which  are  tough  and  flexible.  From 
the  root  immediately  moots  a  ftalk  about  a  foot  and 
an  half  long,  which  at  the  top  branches  into  three 
items;  each  of  thefe  has  three  leaves,  much  of  the 
lhape  and  fize  of  a  walnut  leaf;  and  from  the  fork 
of  each  of  the  three  Hems  grows  a  bunch  of  bluifh 
white  flowers,  refembling  thofe  of  the  fpikenard. 
The  bark  of  the  roots,  which  alone  mould  be  ufed 
In  medicine,  is  of  a  bitterifh  flavor,  but  aromatic. 
It  is  defervedly  efteemed  for  its  medicinal  virtues, 
being  a  gentle  fudorific,  and  very  powerful  in  at^ 
tenuating  the  blood  when  impeded  by  grofs  hu- 
mors. 

GINSANG  is  a  root  that  was  once  fuppofed  to 
grow  only  in  Korea,  from  whence  it  was  ufuaily 
exported  to  Japan,  and  by  that  means  found  its 
way  to  Europe:  but  is  has  been  lately  difcovered 
to  be  alfo  a  native  of  North-America,  where  it 
grows  to  as  great  perfection,  and  is  equally  valua- 
ble. Its  root  is  like  a  fmall  carrot,  but  not  fo  taper 
at  the  end;  it  is  fometimes  divided  into  two  or  more 
branches,  in  all  other  refpecls  it  refembles  farfapa- 
rilla  in  its  growth.  The  tafte  of  the  root  is  bitter- 
ifh. In  the  eaftern  parts  of  Afia  it  bears  a  great 
price,  being  there  confidered  as  a  panacea,  and  is 
the  laft  refuge  of  the  inhabitants  in  all  difbrders. 
When  chewed  it  certainly  is  a  great  ftrengthener  of 
phe  ftomach, 

GOLD  THREAD.  This  is  a  plant  of  the  lmall 
vine  kind,  which  grows  in  fwarripy  places,  and  li. 
on  the  ground.  The  roots  fpread  themfelves  juft 
under  the  furface  of  the  morafs,  and  are  rally  drawn 
up  by  handfuls.  They  refemble  a  large  entangled 
Jkein  of  thread,  of  a  fine,  bright  gold  colour;  and  I 


3|2  CARVERS       TRAVELS. 

am  perfuaded  would  yield  a  beautiful  and  permanent 
yellow  dye.  In  is  alio  greatly  efteemed  both  by  the 
Indians  and  colonifts,  as  a  remedy  for  any  forenefs 
in  the  mouth,  but  the  tafte  of  iris  exquifitely  bit- 
ter. 

SOLOMON'S  SEAL  is  a  plant  that  grows  on  the 
fides  of  rivers,  and  in  rich  meadow  land.  It  rifes 
in  the  whole  to  about  three  feet  high,  the  (talks  be- 
ing two  feet,  when  the  leaves  begin  to  fpread  them- 
selves and  reach  a  foot  further.  A  part  in  every 
root  has  an  impreffion  upon  it  about  the  fize  of  a 
fixpence,  which  appears  as  if  it  was  made  by  a  feal, 
and  from  thefe  it  receives  its  name.  It  is  greatly  va- 
lued en  account  of  its  being  a  fine  purifier  of  the 
blood. 

DEVIL's  BITE  is  another  wild  plant,  which 
grows  in  the  fields,  and  receives  its  name  from  a 
print  that  feems  to  be  made  by  teeth  in  the  roots. 
The  Indians  fay  that  this  was  once  an  univerfal  re- 
medy fcr  every  diforder  that  human  nature  is  inci- 
dent tos  but  fome  of  the  evil  fpirits  envying  man- 
kind the  pofTeiiion  of  fo  efficacious  a  medicine,  gave 
the  root  a  bite,  which  deprived  it  of  a  great  part  of 
its  virtue. 

BLOOD  ROOT.  A  fort  of  plantain  that  fprings 
out  of  the  ground  in  fix  or  feven  long,  rough  leaves, 
the  viens  of  which  are  red  -,  the  root  of  it  is  like  a 
fmall  carrot,  both  in  colour  and  appearance  ■,  when 
broken,  the  infide  of  it  is  of  a  deeper  colour  than  the 
cu:fide,  and  diftils  feveral  drops  of  juice  that  look 
like  blood.     This  is  a  ftrong  emetic,  but  a  verv  dan- 


gerous one, 


CARVER'S      TRAVELS.  343 

HERBS. 

Balm,  Nettles,  Cinque  Foil,  Eyebright,  Sanicle, 
Plantain,  Rattle  Snake  Plantain,  Poor  Robin's 
Plantain,  Toad  Plantain,  Maiden  Hair,  Wild  Dock, 
Rock  Liverwort,  Noble  Liverwort,  BIcodwort, 
Wild  Beans,  Ground  Ivy,  Water  CreiTes,  Yarrow, 
May  Weed,  Gargit,  Skunk  Cabbage  or  Poke, 
Wake  Robin,  Betony,  Scabious,  Mullen,  Wild 
Peafe,  Moufe  Ear,  Wild  Indigo,  Tobacco,  and 
Cat  Mint. 

SANICLE  has  a  root  which  is  thick  towards  the 
upper  part,  and  full  of  fmall  fibres  below;  the 
leaves  of  it  are  broad,  roundifh,  hard,  fmooth, 
and  of  a  fine  mining  green;  a  (talk  rifes  from  thefe 
two  to  the  height  of  a  foot,  which  is  quite  fmooth 
and  free  from  knots,  and  on  the  top  of  it  are  feveral 
fmall  flowers  of  a  reddim  white,  fhaped  like  a 
wild  role.  A  tea  made  of  the  root  is  vulnerary  and 
balfamic. 

RATTLE  SNAKE  PLANTAIN.  This  ufe- 
ful  herb  is  of  the  plantain  kind,  and  its  leaves, 
which  fpread  themfelves  on  the  ground,  are  about 
one  inch  and  an  half  wide,  and  five  inches  longj 
from  the  centre  of  thefe  arifes  a  fmall  flalk,  nearly 
fix  inches  long,  which  bears  a  little  white  flower; 
the  root  is  about  the  fize  ofagoofe  quill,  and  much 
bent  and  divided  into  feveral  branches.  The  leaves 
of  this  herb  are  mere  efficacious  than  any  other  part 
of  it  for  the  bite  of  the  reptile  from  which  it  receives 
its  name ;  and  being  chewed  and  applied  immediately 
to  the  wound,  and  feme  of  the  juice  fvvallo  wed,  id- 
dom  fails  of  averting  very  dangerous  fymptoms.  So 
convinced  are  the  Indians  of  the  power  of  this  in- 
fallible antidote,  that  for  a  trifling  bribe  of  fpiritu* 


544  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

ous  liquor,  they  will  at  any  time  permit  a  rattle 
fnake  to  drive  his  fangs  into  their  fleih.  It  is  to  be 
remarked  that  daring  thofe  months  in  which  the  bite 
of  thefe  creatures  is  moil  venomous,  this  remedy 
for  it  is  in  its  greanefi  perfection/  and  molt  luxuriant 
in  its  growth. 

POOR  ROBIN's  PLANTAIN  is  of  the  fame 
fpecies  as  the  lad,  but  rr.  re  diminutive, in  every  re- 
fpecli  it  receives  its  name  from  its  fize,  and  the 
poor  land  on  which  it  grows.  Ic  is  a  good  medicinal 
herb,  and  often  admrniitered  with  fuccefs  in  fevers 
and  internal  wea'knefles. 

TOAD  PLANTAIN  refembles  the  common 
plan cain,  only  it  grows  much  ranker,  and  is  thus 
denominated  becaufe  toads  love  to  harbor  under  it 

ROCK  LIVERWORT  is  a  fort  of  Liverwort 
that  grows  on  rocks,  and  is  of  the  nature  of  kelp 
or  mofs.  It  is  efleemed  as  an  excellent  remedy 
againli  declines. 

GARGIT  or  SKOKE  is  a  large  kind  of  weed, 
the  leaves  of  which  are  about  fix  inches  long,  and 
two  inches  and  an  half  bread  -,  they  refcmble  thofe 
of  fpinage  in  their  colour  and  texture,  but  not  in 
fliape.  The  root  is  very  large,  from  which  fpring 
different  ftalks  that  run  eight  or  ten  fert  high,  and 
are  full  of  red  berries  -,  thefe  hang  in  cmfters  in  the 
month  of  September,  and  are  generally  called  pi- 
geon berries,  as  thofe  birds  then  iced  on  them. 
When  the  leaves  firft  fpring  from  the  ground,  after 
being  boiled,  they  are  a  nutritious  and  wholeforne 
vegetable,  but  when  they  are  grown  nearly  to  their 
full  fize,  they  acouire  a  poifonous  quality.  The 
applied  to  the  hands  or  feet  of  a  perfon  articled 
with  a  fever,  prove  a  very  powerful-  abiorbent*. 


CARVER'S     TRAVELS.  3+- 

SKUNK  CABBAGE  or  POKE  is  an  herb  that 
grows  in  moift  and  fvvampy  places.  The  leaves 
of  it  are  about  a  foot  long,  and  fix  inches  broad, 
nearly  oval,  but  rather  pointed.  The  roots  are 
compofed  of  great  numbers  of  fibres,  a  lotion  of 
which  is  made  ufe  of  by  the  people  in  the  colonies 
for  the  cure  of  the  itch.  There  irTues  a  ftrong  mufky 
fmell  from  this  herb,  fomething  like  the  animal  o; 
the  fame  name,  before  defcribed^  and  on  that  ac- 
count it  is  fo  termed. 

WAKE  ROBIN  is  an  herb  that  grows  in  fwampy 
lands ;  its  root  refembles  a  fmall  turnip,  and  if 
tafted  will  greatly  inflame  the  tongue,  and  imme- 
diately convert  it  from  its  natural  fhape  into  a  round 
hard  fubftance  ;  in  which  (tare  it  will  continue  for 
fome  time,  and  during  this  no  other  part  of  the 
mouth  will  be  affected.  But  when  dried,  it  lofes 
its  aftringent  quality,  and  becomes  beneficial  to 
mankind,  for  if  grated  into  cold  water,  and  taken 
internally,  it  is  very  good  for  all  complaints  of  the 
bowels. 

WILD  INDIGO  is  an  herb  of  the  fame  fpecies 
as  that  from  v/hence  indigo  is  made  in  the  fouthem 
colonies.  It  grows  in  one  (talk  to  the  height  of  five 
or  fix  inches  from  the  ground,  when  it  divides  into 
many  branches,  from  which  iiTue  a  great  number 
of  fmall  hard  bluifli  leaves  that  fpread  to  a  great 
breadth,  and  among  thefe  it  bears  a  yellow  flower; 
the  juice  of  it  has  a  very  difagreeable  fcent, 

CAT  MINT  has  a  woody  root,  divided  into 
feveral  branches,  and  it  fends  forth  a  flalk  about 
three  feet  high;  the  leaves  are  like  thofe  of  the  net- 
tle or  betony,  and  they  have  a  ftrong  fmell  of  mint, 
with  a  bitinsr  acrid  tafte;  the  flowers  grow  on  thj 
Xx 


346  CARVER'S     TRAVELS. 

tops  of  the  branches,  and  are  of  a  faint  purple  or 
whitifh  colour.  It  is  called  cat  mint,  becaufe  it  is 
laid  that  cats  have  an  antipathy  to  it,  and  will  not 
let  it  grow.     It  has  nearly  the   virtues  of  common 

mint.* 


FLOWERS. 

Heart's  Eafe,  Lillies  red  and  yellow,  Pond 
Lillies,  Cowflips,  May  Flowers,  JefTamine,  Ho- 
ncyfuckles,  Rock  Honeyfuckles,  Rofes  red  and 
white,  Wild  Hollyhock,  Wild  Pinks,  Golden 
Rod. 

I  fhall  not  enter  into  a  minute  defcription  of  the 
flowers  above  recited,  but  only  juft  obferve,  that 
they  much  refemble  thofe  of  the  fame  name  which 
grow  in  Europe,  and  are  as  beautiful  in  colour, 
and  as  perfect  in  odor,  as  they  can  be  fuppofed  to 
be  in  their  wild  uncultivated  ftate. 


FARINACEOUS   and  LEGUMINOUS 
ROOTS,     &c. 

Maize  or  Indian  Corn,  Wild  Rice,  Beans,  the 

Squafh,  &c. 

MAIZE  or  INDIAN  CORN  grows  from  fix  to 
ten  feet  high,  on  a  ftalk  full  of  joints,  which  is  ftifF 
and  folid,  and  when  green,  abounding  with  a  fweet 
juice.  The  leaves  are  like  thofe  of  the  reed,  about 
two  feet  in  length,  and  three  or  four  inches  broad. 
The  flowers  which  are  produced  at  fome  diflance 
from  the  fruit  on  the  fame  plant,  grow  like  the  ears 

»   For  an  account  of  Tobacco,  fee  a  treatife  I  have  publifhed 

on  the  culture  of  that  plant. 


CARVER'S    TRAVELS.  347 

of  oats,  and  are  fomctimes  white,  yellow,  or  of  a 
purple  colour.  The  feeds  are  as  large  as  peafe,  and 
like  them  quite  naked  and  fmooth,  but  of  a  roun- 
difh  furface,  rather  comprefied.  One  fpike  gene- 
rally confifts  of  about  fix  hundred  grains,  which  are 
placed  clofely  together  in  rows  to  the  number  of 
eight  or  ten,  and  fometimes  twelve.  This  corn  is 
very  wholefome,  eafy  of  digeftion,  and  yields  as 
good  nourifhment  as  any  other  fort.  After  the  In- 
dians have  reduced  it  into  meal  by  pounding  it,  they 
make  cakes  of  it,  and  bake  them  before  the  fire. 
I  have  already  mentioned  that  fome  nations  eat  it  in 
cakes  before  it  is  ripe,  in  which  Hate  it  is  very 
agreeable  to  the  palate,  and  extremely,  nutritive. 

WILD  RICE.  This  grain,  which  grows  in  the 
greateft  plenty  throughout  the  interior  parts  of 
North-America,  is  the  mod  valuable  of  all  the 
fpontaneous  productions  of  that  country.  Exclufive 
of  its  utility  as  a  fupply  of  food  for  thofe  of  the  hu- 
man fpecies,  who  inhabit  this  part  of  the  continent, 
and  obtained  without  any  other  trouble  than  that  of 
gathering  it  in,  the  fwectnefs  and  nutritious  quality 
of  it  attracts  an  infinite  number  of  wild  fowl  of  every 
kind,  which  flock  from  diftant  climes,  to  enjoy  this 
rare  repaft;  and  by  it  become  inexprefTibly  fat  and 
delicious.  In  future  periods  it  will  be  of  great  fer- 
ricc  to  the  infant  colonies,  as  it  will  afford  them  a 
prefent  fupport,  until,  in  the  courfe  of  cultivation, 
other  fupplies  may  be  produced;  whereas  in  thofe 
realms  which  are  not  furnifhed  with  this  bounteous 
gift  of  nature,  even  if  the  climate  is  temperate  and 
the  foil  good,  the  firft  fettlers  are  often  expofed  to 
great  hardships  from  the  want  cf  an  immediate  re- 
source for  neceflary  food.  This  ufeful  grain  grows 
in  the  water  where  it  is  about  two  feet  deep,  and 
where  it  finds  a  rich,  muddy  foil.  The  ftalks  of 
it,  and  the  branches  or  ears  tha;  bear  the  kcdt  rs* 


348  CAR  VER's     TRAVELS. 

fembie  oats  both   in  their  appearance  and  manner 
of  growing.     The  (talks  are  full  of  joints,  and   rife 
more  than  eight  feet  above  the  water.     The  natives 
gather  the  grain  in  the  following  manner:     Nearly 
about  the  time  that  it  begins  to  turn  from  its  milky 
Hate  and  to  ripen,    they  run  their  canoes  into  the 
mirift  of  it,  and  tying  bunches  of  it  together,  juft 
below  the  ears,  with  bark,  leave  it  in  this  fituation 
three  or  four  weeks   longer,  till  it  is  perfectly  ripe. 
About  the  latter  end  of  September  they   return  to 
the  river,  when  each  family  having  its  feparate  al- 
lotment, and  being  able  to  diftinguifh  their  own 
property  by  the  manner  of  fattening  the  fheaves, 
gather  in  the  portion  that  belongs  to  them.     This 
they  do  by  placing  their  canoes  clofe  to  the  bunches 
of  rice,  in  fuchpofition  as  to  receive  the  grain  when 
it  falls,  and  then  beat  it  out,  with    pieces   of  wood 
formed  for  that  purpofe.     Having  done  this,   they 
dry   it  with  fmoke,  and  afterwards  tread  or  rub  off 
the  outfide  hulk;  when  it  is  fit  for  ufe   they  put  it 
into  the  fkins  of  fawns,  or  young  buffaloes,  taken 
off  nearly  whole  for  this  purpofe,  and  fewed  into  a 
fort  of  fack,  wherein  they  preferve  it  till  the  return 
of  their  harvefl.     It  has  been  the   fubjec*b  of  much 
/peculation,  why  this  fpcntaneous  grain  is  not  found 
in  any  other  regions  of  America,    or   in  thofe  coun- 
tries fituatcd  in  the  fame  parallels  of  latitude,  where 
the  waters  are  as  apparently  adapted  for  its  growth 
as  in  the  climate  I  treat  of.     As  for  inftance,  none 
of  the  countries  that  lie  to  the  fouth  and  eaft  of  the 
great  lakes,  even  from  the  provinces  north  of  the 
Carolinas,  to  the  extremities  of  Labradore,  produce 
any  of  this  grain.     It  is  true  I  found  great  quantities 
of  it  in  the  watered  lands  near  Detroit,  between  Lake 
Huron  and  Lake  Erie,  but  en  inquiry  I  learned  that 
it  never  arrived  nearer  to  maturity  than  juft  to  blof- 
fom  i  after  which  it  appeared  blighted,   and  died 
awray.  This  convinces  me  that  the  north-well:  wind, 


GARVER's    TRAVELS. 


549 


as  I  have  before  hinted,  is  much  more  powerful  in 
thefe  than  in  the  interior  parts;  and  that  it  is  more 
inimical  to  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  after  it  has  parTed 
over  the  lakes,  and  become  united  with  the  wind 
which  joins  it  from  the  frozen  regions  of  the  north, 
than  it  is  further  to  the  weftward. 

BEANS.  Thefe  are  nearly  of  the  fame  fhape  as 
the  European  beans,  but  are  not  much  larger  than 
the  fmalleft  fize  of  them.  They  are  boiled  by  the 
Indians,  and  eaten  chiefly  with  bears  fleih. 

The  SQUASH.  They  have  alfo  feveral  fpecies 
of  the  MELON  or  PUMPKIN,  which  by  fome  are 
called  fquaihes,  and  which  ferve  many  nations  partly 
as  a  fubftitute  for  bread.  Of  thefe  there  is  the 
round,  the  crane-neck,  the  fmall  flat,  and  the  large 
oblong  fquafh.  The  fmaller  forts  being  boiled,  are 
eaten  during  the  fummer  as  vegetables;  and  are  all 
of  a  pleafing  flavor.  The  crane-neck,  which  greatly 
excels  all  the  others,  are  ufually  hung  up  for  a  win- 
ter's ftore,  and  in  this  manner  might  be  prcferved 
for  feveral  moaths. 


APPENDIX. 


JL  HE  countries  that  lie  between  the  great 
lakes  and  River  MimfTippi,  and  from  thence  fouth- 
ward  to  Weft  Florida,  although  in  the  midft  of  a 
large  continent,  and  at  a  great  diftance  from  the 
fea,  are  fo  fituated,  that  a  communication  between 
them  and  other  realms  might  conveniently  be 
opened  -,  by  which  means  thole  empires  or  colonies 
that  may  hereafter  be  founded  or  planted  therein, 
will  be  rendered  commercial  ones.  The  great  Ri- 
ver MifTifTippi,  which  runs  through  the  whole  of 
them,  will  enable  their  inhabitants  to  eftablifh  an 
intercourfe  with  foreign  climes,  equally  as  well  as 
the  Euphrates,  the  Nile,  the  Danube,  or  the  Wolga 
do  thofe  people  which  dwell  on  their  banks,  and 
who  have  no  other  convenience  for  exporting  the 
produce  of  their  own  country,  or  for  importing 
thofe  of  others,  than  boats  and  vefTcls  of  light  bur- 
den: notwithftanding  which,  they  have  become 
powerful  and  opulent  flates. 

The  MifmTippi,  as  I  have  before  obferved,  runs 
from  north  to  fouth,  and  paiTes  through  the  moft 
fertile  and  temperate  part  of  North- America,  ex- 
cluding only  the  extremities  of  it,  which  verge  both 
on  the  torrid  and  frigid  zones.  Thus  favorably 
fituated,  when  once  its  banks  are  covered  with  in- 
habitants, they  need  not  long  be  at  a  lofs  for  means 
to  eftablifh  an  extenfive  and  profitable  commerce. 
They  will  find  the  country  towards  the  fouth  almoft 
fpontaneoufly  producing  filk,  cotton,  indigo,  and 
tobacco;  and  the  more  northern  parts,  wine,  oil, 


35- 


APPENDIX. 


beef,  tallow,  fkins,  buffalo-wool,  and  furs;  with 
lead,  copper,  iron,  coals,  lumber,  corn,  rice,  and 
fruits,  befides  earth  and  barks  for  dying. 

Thefe  articles,  with  which  it  abounds  even  to 
profufion,  may  be  r.ranfported  to  the  ocean  through 
this  river  without  greater  difficulty  than  that  which 
attends  the  conveyance  of  merchandize  down  fome 
of  thofe  I  have  j uft  mentioned.  It  is  true  that  the  Mif- 
fiffippi  being  the  boundary  between  the  Englifn  and 
Spanifh  fettle  merits,  and  the  Spaniards  in  pofTefiion 
of  the  mouth  of  it,  they  may  obftruct  the  paffage 
of  it,  and  greatly  diihearten  thofe  who  make  the 
flrft  attempts;  yet  when  the  advantages  that  will  cer- 
tainly arife  to  fettlers,  are  known,  multitudes  of 
adventurers,  allured  by  the  profpecl;  of  fuch  abun- 
dant riches,  will  flock  to  it,  and  eftablifh  themfelves, 
though  at  the  expence  of  rivers  of  blood. 

But  fhould  the  nation  that  happens  to  be  in  pof- 
feflion  of  New  Orleans  prove  unfriendly  to  the  in- 
ternal fettlers,  they  may  find  a  way  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  by  the  river  Iberville,  which  empties  itfelf 
from  the  Miffiflippi,  after  pafling  throngh  Lake 
Maurepas,  into  Lake  Ponchartrain,  which  has  a  com- 
munication with  the  fea  within  the  borders  of  Weft 
Florida.  The  River  Iberville  branches  off  from  the 
MiffifTippi  about  eighty  miles  above  New  Orleans, 
and  though  it  is  at  prefent  choked  up  in  fome  parts, 
it  might  at  an  inconfiderable  expence  be  made  na- 
vigable, fo  as  to  anfwer  all  the  purpofes  propof- 
ed. 

Although  the  Englifh  have  acquired  fince  the  laft 
peace  a  more  extenfive  knowlege  of  the  interior  parts 
than  were  ever  obtained  before,  even  by  the  French, 
yet  many  of  their  productions  ftiil  remain  unknown. 
And  though  I  was  not  deficient  either  in  affiduity  or 


APPENDIX.  353 

attention  during  the  fhort  time  I  remained  in  them, 
yet  I  muft  acknowledge  that  the  intelligence  I  gained 
was  not  fo  perfect  as  I  could  wifh,  and  that  it  requires 
further  refearches  to  make  the  world  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  real  value  of  thefe  long  hidden 
realms. 

The  parts  of  the  Miffiflippi  of  which  no  furvey 
has  hitherto  been  taken  amount  to  upwards  of  eight 
hundred  miles,  following  the  courfe  of  the  ftream, 
that  is,  from  the  Illinois  to  the  Ouifconfin  Rivers. 
Plans  of  fuch  as  reach  from  the  former  to  the  Gulph 
of  Mexico,  have  been  delineated  by  feveral  hands 
and  I  have  the  pleafure  to  find  that  an  actual  furvey 
of  the  intermediate  parts  of  the  Miffiflippi,  between 
the  Illinois  River  and  the  fea,  with  the  Ohio,  Che- 
rokee, and  Ouabache  Rivers,  taken  on  the  fpot  by 
a  very  ingenious  gentleman,*  is  now  publifhed. 
I  flatter  myfelf  that  the  obfervations  therein  contain- 
ed, which  have  been  made  by  one  whofe  knowledge 
of  the  parts  therein  defcribed  was  acquired  by  a  per- 
fonal  investigation,  aided  by  a  foiid  judgment,  will 
confirm  the  remarks  I  have  made,  and  promote  the 
plan  I  am  here  recommending. 

I  mail  alfo  here  give  a  concife  difcription  of  each, 
beginning,  according  to  the  rule  of  geographers, 
with  that  which  lies  moft  to  the  north. 

It  is  however  neceffary  to  obferve,  that  before 
thefe  fettlements  can  be  eftablifhed,  grants  muft  be 
procured  in  the  manner  cuftomary  on  fuch  occafions, 
and  the  lands  be  purchafed  of  thofe  who  have  ac- 
quired a  right  to  them  by  a  long  poffefTion ;  but  no 

*  Thomas  Hutchins,  Efq.  Captain  in  his  Majefty's  6oih,  or 
Royal  American  Regiment  of  Foot. 


354 


A    P    P     E    N    D    I 


greater  difficulty  will  attend  the  completion  of  this 
point,  than  the  original  founders  of  every  colony 
on  the  continent  met  with  to  obftruct  their  inten- 
tions ;  and  the  num,ber  of  Indians  who  inhabit  thefe 
tracts  being  greatly  inadequate  to  their  extent,  it  is 
not  to  be  doubted.,  but  they  will  readily  give  up  for 
a  reafonable  confederation,  territories  that  are  of 
little  ufe  to  them  ;  or  remove  for  the  accommodation 
of  their  new  neighbors,  to  lands  at  a  greater  dif- 
tance  from  the  MifliiTippi,  the  navigation  of  which 
is  not  eflential  to  the  welfare  of  their  communities. 

No.  I.  The  country  within  thefe  lines,  from  its 
fituation,  is  colder  than  any  of  the  others ;  yet  I  am 
convinced  that  the  air  is  much  more  temperate  than 
in  thofe  provinces  that  lie  in  the  fame  degree  of  la- 
titude to  the  eaft  of  it.  The  foil  is  excellent,  and 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  land  that  is  free  from  woods 
in  the  parts  adjoining  to  the  Mifliffippi  -f  whilft  on 
the  contrary  the  north-eaftern  bordeis  of  it  are  well 
wooded.  Towards  the  head  of  the  River  Saint 
Croix,  rice  grows  ita  great  plenty,  and  there  is 
abundance  of  copper.  Though  the  falls  of  Saint 
Anthony  are  fituated  at  the  fouth  eaft  corner  of  this 
divifion  yet  that  impediment  will  not  totally  obftrucl: 
the  navigation,  as  the  River  Saint  Croix,  which 
runs  through  a  great  part  of  the  fcuthern  fide  of  it, 
enters  the  Mifliffippi  juft  below  the  Falls,  and  flows 
withfo  gentle  a'cur.rent,  that  it  affords  a  convenient 
navigation  for  boats.  This  tract  is  about  one  hun- 
dred miks  from  north-weft  to  fouth- eaft,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  north-eaft  to  fcuth 
weft. 

No.  II.  This  tract,  as  I  have  already  defcribed 
it  in  my  Journal,  exceeds  the  higheft  encomiums  I 
can  give  it;  notwithstanding  whichit  is  entirely  un- 
inhabited, and  the  profuiion  of  bit  -flings  that  nature 
has  fhowtred  on  this  heavenly  fpot,  return  unenjoyed 


APPENDIX.  355 

to  the  lap  from  whence  they  fprang.  Lake  Pepin, 
as  I  have  termed  it  after  the  French,  lies  within 
thefe  bounds  -,  but  the  lake  to  which  that  name  pro- 
perly belongs  is  a  little  above  the  river  St.  Croix  ; 
however,  as  all  the  traders  call  the  lower  lake  by 
that  name,  I  have  fo  denominated  it,  contrary  to 
the  information  I  received  from  the  Indians.  This 
colony  lying  in  unequal  angles,  the  dimenfions  of  it 
cannot  be  exactly  given,  but  it  appears  to  be  on  an 
average  about  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  long,  and 
eighty  broad. 

No.  III.  The  greatett  part  of  this  divifion  is  fitu- 
ated  on  the  river  Ouifconfin,  which  is  navigable  for 
boats  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  till  it 
reaches  the  carrying  place  that  divides  it  from  the 
Fox  River.  The  land  which  is  contained  within  its 
limits,  is  in  fome  parts  mountainous,  and  in  the 
other  confifts  of  fertile  meadows  and  fine  pafturage. 
It  is  furniihed  alfo  with  a  great  deal  of  good  timber, 
and,  as  is  generally  the  cafe  on  the  banks  of  the 
MiffirTippi  and  its  branches,  has  much  fine,  open, 
clear  land,  proper  for  cultivation.  To  thefe  arc- 
added  an  inexhauftible  fund  of  riches,  in  a  number 
of  lead  mines  which  lie  at  a  little  diftance  from  the 
Ouifconfin  towards  the  fouth,  and  appear  to  be  un- 
commonly full  of  ore.  Although  the  Saukies  and 
Ottagaumies  inhabit  apart  of  chis#tract;  the  whole 
of  the  lands  under  their  cultivation  does  not  exceed 
three  hundred  acres.  It  is  in  length  from  eaft  to 
weft  about  one  hundred  and  fSty  miles*  and  about 
eighty  from  north  to  fouth. 

No.  IV.  This  colony  confifts  of  lands  of  various 
denominations,  fome  of  which  are  very  good,  and 
others  very  bad.  The  beft  is  fituated  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Green  Bay  and  the  Fox  River,  where 
there  are  innumerable  acres  covered  with  fine  grafsA 


356  APPENDIX. 

moil  part  of  which  grows  to  an  aftonifhing  height. 
This  river  will  afford  a  good  navigation  for  boats 
throughout  the  whole  of  ics  courfe,  which  is  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  except  between  the 
"Winnebago  Lake,  and  the  Green  Bay;  where  there 
are  feverai  carrying-places,  in  the  fpace  of  thirty 
miles.  The  Fox  River  is  rendered  remarkable  by 
the  abundance  of  rice  that  grows  on  its  fhores,  and 
the  aimoft  infinite  numbers  of  wild  fowl  that  frequent 
its  banks.  The  land  which  lies  near  it  appears  to 
be  very  fertile,  and  promifes  to  produce  a  fufficient 
fuppiy  of  all  the  neceffaries  of  life  for  any  number 
of  inhabitants.  A  communication  might  be  opened 
by  thofe  who  mall  fettle  here,  either  through  the 
Green  Bay,  Lake  Michigan,  Lake  Huron,  Lake 
Eiie,  and  Lake  Ontario  with  Canada,  or  by  way  of 
the  Ouifconfin  into  the  MifTuTippi.  This  divifionis 
about  one  hundred  and  fixty  miles  long  from  north 
to  fouth,  ami  one  hundred  and  forty  broad. 

No.  V.  This  is  an  excellent  tracl:  of  land,  and, 
eonfidering  its  interior  fnuation,  has  greater  advan- 
tages than  could  be  expected ;  for  having  the  Mif- 
fifTippi  en  its  weitern  borders,  and  the  Illinois  on  its 
ibuth-eaft,  it  has  as  free  a  navigation  as  moft  of  the 
others.  The  northern  parts  of  it  are  fomewhat 
mountainous,  but  it  contains  a  great  deal  of  clear 
land,  the  foil  of  which  is  excellent,  with  many  fine 
fertile  meadows,  and  not  a  few  rich  mines.  It  is 
upwards  of  two  hundred  miles  from  north  to  fouth, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  from  eaft  to  weft. 

No.  VI.  This  colony  being  fituated  upon  the 
heads  of  the  Rivers  Illinois  and  Ouabache,  the  for- 
mer of  which  empties  itfelf  immediately  into  the 
Mifi  flippi,  and  the  latter  into  the  fame  river  by 
means  of  the  Ohio,  will  readily  find  a  communica- 
tion with  the  fea  through  thefe.     Having  alfo  the 


APPENDIX. 


357 


river  Miamis  palling  through  it,  which  runs  into 
Lake  Erie,  an  intercourfe  might  be  eftablifhed  with 
Canada  a4fo  by  way  of  the  lakes,  as  before  pointed 
out.  It  contains  a  great  deal  of  rich  fertile  land, 
and  though  more  inland  than  any  of  the  others, 
will  be  as  valuable  an  acquifition  as  the  beft  of  them. 
From  north  to  fouth  it  is  about  one  hundred  and 
fitxy  miles,  from  eaft  to  weft  one  hundred  and 
eighty. 

No.  VII.  This  divifion  is  not  inferior  to  any  of 
the  foregoing.  Its  northern  borders  lying  adjacent 
to  the  Illinois  river,  and  its  weftern  to  the  Mifiiffip- 
pi,  the  fituation  of  it  for  eftablifhing  a  commercial 
intercourfe  with  foreign  nations  is  very  commodious. 
It  abounds  with  all  the  neceflaries  of  life,  and  is 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  north  to 
fouth,  and  fixty  miles  from  eaft  to  weft  ;  but  the 
confines  of  it  being  more  irregular  than  the  others, 
I  cannot  exactly  afcertain  the  dimenflons  of  it. 

No.  VIII.  This  colony  having  the  River  Oua- 
bache  running  through  the  centre  of  it,  and  the 
Ohio  for  its  fouthern  boundary,  will  enjoy  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  free  navigation.  It  extends  about  one 
hundred  and  forty  miles  from  north  to  fouth,  asd 
one  hundred  and  thirty  from  eaft  to  weft. 

No.  IX.  X.  and  XI.  being  fimilar  in  fituation, 
and  furnifhed  with  nearly  the  fame  conveniences  as 
all  the  others,  I  fhall  only  give  their  dimenfions. 
No.  IX.  is  about  eighty  miles  each  way,  but  not  ex- 
actly fquare.  No.  X.  is  nearly  in  the  fame  form, 
and  about  the  fame  extent.  No.  XI.  is  much  larger, 
being  at  leaft  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  north 
to  fouth,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  from  eaft  to 
weft,  as  nearly  as  from  its  irregularity  it  is  poflible 
p  calculate. 


353  APPENDIX. 

After  the  defcription  of  this  delightful  country  I 
have  already  given,  I  need  not  repeat  that  all  the 
fpots  I  have  thus  pointed  out  are  as  proper  for  colo- 
nization, abound  not  only  with  the  neceffaries  of  life, 
being  well  ilored  with  rice,  deer,  buffaloes,  bears, 
&c.  but  produce  in  equal  abundance  fuch  as  may 
be  termed  luxuries,  or  at  leaft  thofe  articles  of  com- 
merce before  recited,  which  the  inhabitants  of  it 
will  have  an  opportunity  of  exchanging  for  the  need- 
ful productions  of  ether  countries. 

The  difecvery  of  a  north-weft  paffage  to  India 
has  been  the  fubject  of  innumerable  difquifitions. 
Many  efforts  likewife  have  been  made  by  way  of 
Hudion's  Bay,  to  penetrate  into  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
though  without  fuccefs.  I  fhall  not  therefore  trouble 
myfelf  to  enumerate  the  advantages  that  would  re- 
fult  from  this  much- wifhed- for  difcovery,  its  utility 
being  already  too  well  known  to  the  commercial 
world  to  need  any  elucidation  ;  I  fhall  only  confine 
myfelf  to  the  methods  that  appear  mod  probable  to 
enfure  fuccefs  to  future  adventurers. 

The  many  attempts  that  have  hitherto  been  made 
for  this  purpofe,  but  which  have  all  been  rendered 
abortive,  feem  to  have  turned  the  fpirit  of  making 
ufefui  refearches  into  another  channel,  and  this  moil 
interesting  one  has  aimoft  been  given  up  as  imprac- 
ticable ;  but,  in  my  opinion,  their  failure  rather  pro- 
ceeds from  their  being  begun  at  an  improper  place, 
than  from  their  impracticability. 

All  navigators  that  have  hitherto  gone  in  fearch 
of  this  paffage,  have  firft  entered  Hudfon's  Bay ; 
the  confequence  of  which  has  been,  that  having 
fpent  the  feafon  during  which  only  thofe  feas  are  na- 
vigable, in  exploring  many  of  the  numerous  inlets 
lying  therein,  and  this  without  difcovering  any  open- 


APPENDIX.  359 

ing,  terrified  at  the  approach  of  winter,  they  have 
haftened  back  for  fear  of  being  frozen  up,  and  con- 
fequently  of  being  obliged  to  continue  till  the  return 
of  fummer  in  thole  black  and  dreary  realms.  Even 
fuch  as  have  perceived  the  coafts  to  enfold  themfelves, 
and  who  have  of  courfc  entertained  hopes  of  fcc* 
ceeding,  have  been  deterred  from  profecuting  their 
voyage,  left  the  winter  fhould  fet  in  before  they 
could  reach  a  more  temperate  climate. 

Thefe  apprehenfions  have  difcouraged  the  bcldeft 
adventurers  from  completing  the  expeditions  in 
which  they  have  engaged,  and  fruftrated  every  at- 
tempt. But  as  it  has  been  difcovered  by  fuch  as 
have  failed  into  the  northern  parts  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  chat  there  are  many  inlets  which  verge  to- 
wards Hudfon's  Bay,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  but 
that  a  palTage  might  be  made  out  from  that  quar- 
ter, if  it  be  fought  for  at  a  proper  feafon.  And 
fnould  thefe  expectations  be  difappointed,  the  ex- 
plorers would  not  be  in  the  fame  hazardous  fituation 
with  thofe  who  fet  out  from  Hudfon's  Bay,  for  they 
will  always  be  fure  of  a  fafe  retreat,  through  an  open 
fea,  to  warmer  regions,  even  after  repeated  difap- 
pointments.  And  this  confidence  will  enable  them 
to  proceed  with  greater  refolution,  and  probably  be 
the  means  of  effecting  what  too  much  circumfpec- 
tion  or  timidity  has  prevented. 

Thefe  reafons  for  altering  the  plan  of  inquiry 
after  this  convenient  parlage,  carry  with  them  fuch 
conviction,  that  in  the  year  1774,  Richard  Whit- 
worth,  Efq.  member  of  Parliament  for  Stafford,  a 
gentleman  of  an  extenfive  knowledge  in  geography, 
of  an  active,  enterprifing  difpofition,  and  whofe 
benevolent  mind  is  ever  ready  to  promote  the  hap- 
pinefs  of  individuals,  or  the  welfare  of  the  public, 
from  the  reprefentations  made  to  him  of  the  txpedi- 


360  APPENDIX. 

ency  of  it  by  myfelf  and  others,  intended  to  travel 
acrofs  the  continent  of  America,  that  he  might 
attempt  to  carry  a  fcheme  of  this  kind  into  execution. 

He  defigned  to  have  purfued  nearly  the  fame 
route  that  I  did;  and  after  having  built  a  fort  at 
Lake  Pepin,  to  have  proceeded  up  the  River  St. 
Pierre,  and  from  thence  up  a  branch  of  the  River 
Mcflbrie,  till  having  difcovered  the  fource  of  the 
Oregan  or  River  of  the  Weft,  on  the  other  fide  of 
the  fummit  of  the  lands  that  divide  the  waters  which 
run  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from  thofe  that  fall  into 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  he  would  have  failed  down  that 
river  to  the  place  where  it  is  faid  to  empty  itfelf 
near  the  Straits  of  Annian. 

Having  there  eftablifhed  another  fettlement  on 
fome  fpot  that  appeared  bed  calculated  for  the  fup- 
port  of  his  people,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  fome  of 
the  inlets  which  trend  towards  the  north-eaft,  he 
would  from  thence  have  begun  his  refearches.  This 
gentleman  was  to  have  been  attended  in  the  expedi- 
tion by  Colonel  Rogers,  myfelf,  and  others,  and 
to  have  taken  out  with  him  a  fufficient  number  of 
artificers  and  mariners  for  building  the  forts  and 
veflels  necefTary  on  the  occafion,  and  for  navigating 
the  latter;  in  all  not  lefs  than  fifty  or  fixty  men. 
The  grants  and  other  requifites  for  this  purpofe 
were  even  nearly  completed,  when  the  prefent  trou- 
bles in  America  began,  which  put  a  flop  to  an  en- 
terprife  that  promifed  to  be  of  inconceivable  ad- 
vantage to  the  Britifh  dominions. 


FINIS. 


LIST 


O    F 


SUBSCRIBERS 


T    O 


CARVER'S  TRAVELS. 


Abel  john 

Addis  John 
Addis  Richard 
Alberger  Adam 
Allardice  Samuel 
Alexander  Samuel 
Allen  Samuel 
Allibone  Thomas 
Alricks  Jacob,  Wilming- 
ton, D. 
Anderfon  John, 
Anderfbn  Charles 
Anderfon  James 
Anderfon  Alexander 
Andrews  John 


Anderfon  James 
Anthony,  jun.  Jacob 
Andrews  Robert 
Apt  George 
Apt  Henry 
Arbegaft  John 
Arbunckle  John 
Archer  Samuel 
Armflrong  Archibald 
Armftrong  William,  New 

Caftle,  D. 
Arnell  David 
Arnold  John 
Arnot  John 
Ambridge  Jofeph 


SUBSCRIBER  S'     NAMfiS. 


Afhton  George 
Afhtcn  William 
Auld  Jacob 


Aull  W  illiam,  New  Caftle, 
D. 


B 


Bags  John 

Bail  John,  Wilmington,  D. 
Bailey  Mofes 
Baird  James 
Baker  A.  George 
Baldwin  Jofeph 
Baldwin  Thomas 
Baley  Barney 
Baley  John 
Ball  W.  Blackwell 
Banks  William 
Bantleon  George 
Barber  M.  John 
Barber  Robert 
Barnes  John 
Barnet  Nathaniel 
Barr  Philip 
Bartleman  Thomas 
Bafs  Aquila 
Batfon  Thomas 
Burke  Michael 
Bird  Ifaiah 
Bifhop  Willam 
Bartlefon  George 


Bayard  A.  James,  Wil- 
mington, D. 
Bayel  Samuel 
'  Bayne  Robert 
Bayne  John 
Bayne  Nathaniel 
Beckley  Daniel 
Beak  Henry 
Beck  Henry 
Bell  Jofeph 
Bell  Henry 
Bell  Thomas 
Bell  Peter 
Bell  William, 
Bender  Lewis 
Bender  John 
Bennett  Jofeph 
Bird  Jofeph 

Birz  John,  New  Caftle,  Dt 
Bioren  John 
Bingham  A. 
Bingham  Thomas 
Brooks  John 
Brooks  Ifaac 


SUBSCRIBERS'   NAMES. 


Biven  John 
Black  jun.  James 
Blanford  John 
Black  jun.  James 
Blair  Jofeph 
Bloomfield  Elifha 
Boland  Alexander 
Bond  O.  Zacheus 
Booth  James,  New  Caf- 

tleB. 
Both  Adam 
Bourfchett  John 
Bourne  Stephen 
Bowles  Wnliam 
Bowen  John 
Bowman  Jofeph 
Bowers  Jofeph 
Boyd  James 
Boyer  James 
Brady  James 
Branaman  Chriftian 
Bray  William 
Brearly  Jofeph 
Brewer  Daniel 
Briggs  Abner 
Briggs  Francis 
Bremer  Lewis 
Britton  Jofeph 
Broadfoot  James 
§  rooks  David 


Brown  Abia 
Brown  George 
Brown  John 
Brown  John 
Brown  John,   N.  L, 
Brown  Matthew 
Brown  Jofeph 
Brown  James 
Brown  Riciiard 
Brown  Samuel 
Brown  William 
Bruftar  John 
Bryon  John,    New  Caf* 

tleD. 
Bryon  Thomas 
Brymer  Alexander 
Buck  William 
Buchanan  Alexander 
Buckley  William 
Burlington  Jofeph 
Bugg  A.J.   Georgia, 
Bunting  Nicholas 
Burden  Jofeph 
Burke  James 
Burk  John 
Burnfide  William 
Bufc  Sim. 
Butler  James 
Butler  John 
Byrne  Alexander 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES. 


Cambal  Hanfel 
Cameron  David 
Camp  Robert 
Campbell  Jofeph 
Campbell  William 
Campbell  Charles 
Campbell  D.  John 
Carpenter  Richard 
Carpenter  James,    New 

Caftle  D. 
Carbarey  Daniel 
Carels  Samuel 
Carr  Patrick 
Carr  Robert 
Carr  James 
Carmalt  S.  Thomas 
Carfon  James 
Cafe  Jofeph 
Cather  David 
Cauffman  Jacob 
Caulter  Hugh 
Cecil  William 
Chapman  John 
Chapman  R.  George 
Chriftian  Peter 
Chriftine  Thomas 
Chriftie  David 
Chrifty  Robert 


Chriftv  Huo-h 

Cift  Charles 

Claedy  Samuel 

Clark  George 

Clark  Daniel 

Clark  W.  Thomas,  New 

Cafile  D. 
Clarke  Abfalom 
Claufe  Henry 
Ckyton  Henry 
Clayton  Charles 
Clendenin  G.  Samuel 
Clendenings  Robert 
Clinton  John 
Cline  Jofeph 
Clamberg  Philip 
Cooper  William 
Cooper  Robert 
Cooper  Tho:  &  Hugh 
Cooper  Jofeph 
Cooper  John 
Copeland  William 
Copeland  William 
Cork  John 
Comely  James 
Cornman  William 
Coft  Martin 
Courtney  Michael 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES. 


Coats  William,  Efq. 
Coates  William 
Cochran  B.  Hugh 
Cohen  Jacob 
Colladay  Daniel 
Colladay  Abraham 
Coles  William 
Colefbery  Henry,  New 

Caftle  D. 
Collier  William 
Collino;s  Arthur 
Collings  Richard 
Connor  Thomas 
Conway  John,  New 

Caftle  D. 
Cooper  George 
Coats  Abraham 


Coxe  Fench 
Cox  John 
Cowen  William 
Craw   John,    New- 

Caftle  D. 
Crawford  John 
Crawford  Benjamin 
Crawford  William 
Crofecope  Jofeph 
Croufdill  William 
Crumpton  William 
Culbertfon  William 
Commings  William 
Cummings  James 
Cummings  Jonathan 
Cuthbert  A. 
Commons  Jofeph 


D. 


Dallas  William 

Darby  James,  New 
Caftle  D. 

Dawfon  Tho:    Wilming- 
ton I). 

Davis  Samfon 

Davis  William 

Davifon  Arthur 

Deal  Daniel 

^ean  George 


Dean  John 
Dean  jun.  William 
Dehaven  Jonathan 
De  Haas  P.  John 
Decombaz  jun.  G.  6  Co. 
Deimling  F.  G. 
Dennis  John 
Deflozieries  N. 
Devis  John 
Dick  Jacob 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES, 


Dixcy  Thomas 
Dick  Philip 
Dickenfon  Jonathan 
Dickenfon  Jeffe 
Dickenfon    John,     Wil- 
mington D. 
Dillon  James 
Dilworth  James 
Dixon  James 
Dobbin  Thomas 
Dobbins  Thomas 
Dobelbower  J.  Henry 
Dodd  Hugh 
Doig  John 
Donnell  Henry 
Donaldfon  T.  William 
Dougan  Archibald 
Dougheruy  Thomas 


Dougherty  James 
Dougharty  Richard 
Doughty  Daniel 
Duffey  James 
Duffy  Aaron 
Duffield  John 
Duffield  John 
Duglafs  Richard 
Dull  jun.  Chriftopher 
Duncan  Alexander,  New 

Caftle  D. 
Dupuy  William 
Dutilh  &  \Vachfmuth 
Dufton  Daniel 
Derbyfhire  John 
Daly  Patrick 
Dreu  John 
Davis  William 


Eafton  John 
EckfeldtAdam 
E.k  ord  Walter 
Edward    James,      JVil- 

mingtcn  D. 
Egert  George 
Ehen  James 
Elford  John 
Ellingwood  Ebenezer 


Engliih  Jofeph 
Erringfight  David 
Erringer  P.  John 
Erwin  George 
Evans  Evan 
Evans  James 
Evans  Jonathan 
Everhart  David 
Ewing  Thomas 


SUBSCRIBER  S'  NAMES, 


Elliott  Samuel 
Ekron  James 


Eyre  jiin.  Manuel 


Facundus  Jacob 
Farner  Cafper 
Feagan  Nicholas 
Fee  Robert 
Felty  John 
Fentham  G.  John 
Fifher  Elifha 
Fifs  John 

Fitzgerald  William 
Flannaghan  John 
Fleming     John, 

mington  D. 
Flint  John 
Foering  Samuel 
Fogel  Jacob 
Folwell  Nathan 


Wil- 


Foot  John 
Forrefter  Henry 
Forfyth  Ifaac 
Forfyth  David 
Forfyth  William 
Fotterall  Stephen 
Fox  James,  Georgia. 
Fox  George 
Fox  George 
French  Thomas 
Frefhmuth  Daniel 
Fritz  Peter 
Fryberg  John 
Fryberg  John 
Furman  jun.  Moore 


Gabel  Peter 
Galbraith  Robert 
Gardner  S.  John 
Gardiner  Benjamin 
Gardiner  M.   Francis, 
Wilmington  D. 

Gardner  James 
Garman  John 


Gafs  George 
Gafkill  Jofiah 
Gaw  Gilbert 
Gaw  Gilbert 
Gaynor  Thomas 
Gazzam  William 

George  Matthew 
Golelborough  Charles 


SUBSCRIBERS'   NAMES. 


Garrifon  Jofhua 

Garnett  Perry 

Geyer  jun.  Andrew 

Gilbert  Conrad 

Gill  John 

Gillefpie  Robert 

Gillafpy  Henry 

Gilmor  William 

Gilpin    William,  Wil- 
mington D. 

Gibion  Frederick 

Gibbs  Stephen 

Gilbert  JefTe 

Glenn  John 

Glaus  Simon 

Glasford  Abel,  New 
Caftle  D. 

Gordon  John 

Gore  John 

Gorham  Edward 

Gottfhalkibn  Salom 


Hafline  jun.  John 
Hanford  Lewis 
Haga  Godfrey 
Hailer  Frederick 
Hale  Matthew 
Hall  John 
Hall  Robert 


Golden  F.  Philip. 
Goff  Thomas 
Grace  John 
Grace  Jacob 
Graff  Frederick 
Grant  John 

GrafTet  Daniel,  i  copies 
Gray  James 
Gray  Joieph 
Gravenftine  Samuel 
Green  William 
Greer  James 
Greble  William 
Griffin  Samuel 
Griffith  J ofeph 
Grimes  John 
Guillenough  Patrick 
Guilfry  Matthew 
Guir  William 
Gullen  John 
Guy  Richard 


H 


Hamilton  William 
Hamilton  William 
Hanfell  Barnett 
Hannum  L.  Wafhington 
Hancock  William,   Wil- 
mington  D. 


SUBSCRIBERS'   NAMES. 


Hall  John 

Hamilton   Charles,  Wil- 
mington D. 

Hanlon  Thomas 

Harbefon  Jofeph 

Harkin  Thomas 

Harrell  James 

Harper  Benjamin 

Harrifonjun.  William 

Hardy  T. 

Karvey  Sampfon 

Harvey  Alexander,  New 
Caftie  D. 

Haffinger  Chriftopher 

Hatrick  Matthew 

Hayes  John 

Hawkins  William 

Hazelton  Peter 

Helm  John 

Hemple  Chriftian 

Heming  Samuel 

Henderfon  John 

Henderfon  Robert 

Henry  William 

Henry  Andrew 

Herbert  Jofeph 

Hera  John 

Hefs  Nioholas 

Hefs  Adam 


He  (Ion  Levi 

Heyl  John 

Heyl  Philip 

Hill  John 

Hill  Jacob 

Hochner  John 

Hoffman  Jacob 

Hoffman  Daniel 

Hoffner  Jacob 

Holmes  William 

Holmes  John 

Holmes  William 

Holland  Benjamin 

Homes  James 

Hood  John 

Hoops  jun.  Anthony 

Hook  John 

Horn  Benjamin 

Horton  JefTe 

Hough  Ifaac 

Houfe  Peter 

Howell   M.    Wilm'mgUn 

D. 
Huber  Henry 
Hudner  John 
Hudfon  William 
Huff  John 
Huff  Jacob 
Husrhes  John 


U  B  S  C  R  I  B  £  K  S'    NAME  b\ 


Humphreys' Ailie  ton 
Huron  Laurence 
Hurley  Man  rice. 
Kutchinfon  Charles 


Hutton  Thomas 

Hurts  yohn 
Hutton  Nathaniel 
Hvmer  Adam 


Ing  The. 
Innes  John 
T-nilant  Alexander 


Irving  David 
Ives  John 


j 


Jackfon  John 
Jackfon  B.  Richard 
James  John,    IVihr.higcn 

D. 
James  Edward 
James  Roberr,   TreniQfi 
Jamefbn  John 
Janney  Thomas 
January  William' 
Janier  John 
jaquett   P.   John,  Neiv- 

C*fUei>.  ' 
jaquett  jun.  Peter,  Chrif- 

iiana  Bridge, 
John  Iiaac 
johnfon  Jacob 
Johnfon  Jeremiah' 


Johnfon  Richard 
Johnfon  David 
Johnfon  Jonathan 
Johnfon  Jofeph 
Johnfon  John 
Jo'hnfton  David 
Johnflon  William 
Joh niton  William 
Johnfton  John 
Jones  Gilbert 
Jones  Samuel 
Jones  John,    Wthmngto 

D. 
Jones  John 
Jones  Edward 
Jones  Robert 
Jones  Marfhal) 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES. 


M 


Jones  Amos,  ffcifiningtitn     Jor.es  jun.  Philip 

D.  Joy  Ablaloni 

Jones  Jonathan  JrjYce  Thoraasr 


Kane  John 

Kay  Jofeph 

Kean  John 

Keen  John 

KefFer  John 

Keller  George 

Kelley  Thomas 

Keiley  Hugh 

Kelfey  C.  John 

Kellar  George 

Kendall  James,  Wilming- 
ton D. 

Kennedy  John 

Kerlin  George,  Wihmng- 
tcn  D. 


Key  Michael,    JVihihg- 

t.on  D, 
Keys  Abraham 
Kid  Robert 
Kimber  JeiTe 
Kinfton  J.  Thomas 
-KifTelman  S.    Frederi. ..I: 
Klein  Abraham 
Knerr  Henry 
Knight  Thorns 
Knight  William 
Kollock  John 
Kuhl  jun.  Frederick 


La  Combe  John  Dr, 
Lakey  Marmaduke 
Lake  Richard 
Laing   Benjamin,  Wil- 
mington D. 
Lamat  John 
Lancafter  Thomas 


Lancafrer  John 
Landers  John,  Wilming- 
ton D. 
Laning  James 
Larer  Melchior 
Lafher  Jacob 
Lauck  John 


M 


SUBSCRIBERS*   NAMES, 


Lawrance  Thomas 
Lehman  Samuel 
Lee  Benjamin 
Leedom  Benjamin 
Le  Breton,  Dr, 
Lees  Mar y 
Leib  George 
Lentz  jun.  Henry 
Lefh  Peter 
Lefiie  Guftavus 
Lewis  A.  John 
Lewis  S.  Jofeph 
Lewis  jun.  Robert 
Levy  Aaron 
Lingwood  H.  L. 
Linten  Jacob 


Lodor  John 
Loir  B.  John 
Longshore  Jolly 
Lotee  Jofeph 
Lorrainjun.  John 
Lownes  James 
Lou  rg  Peter 
Lowry  Philip 
Loudon  John 
Ludwig  Chriftopher 
Luke   John,    Wilmington 

D.  ' 
Luilial  John 
Lyons  Eneas 
Lyndall  Benjamin 
Lytle  Thomas 


M 


Macferran  Samuel 
Madan  Patrick, 
Magens  Tho :  Chrifiiana 

Ferry. 
Maddock  JeHe 
Malin  John 
Malvy  Charles 
Mann  William 
Manning  William 
Marfhall  Abraham 
Martin  John 
Marquedant  Charles 


Marfhal  Robert 
Mafon  William 
Mafter  William 
Maybe ny  John 
Mayers  Philip 
M<  Allcftcr  Mary 
M'  Alpin  James 
Mf  Arthur  Daniel 
M(  Calla  Andrew 
Mc  Calla  David 
Mf  Clain  Thomas 
TV}'  Cleay  Charle  s 


SUBSCRIBERS1    NAMES. 


U 


Mc  Clentick  William 
Mc  Clenaghan  Michael 
Mf  CoJm  John 
M(  Crea  Archibald 
Mc  Cutehon  James 
Mc  Cutehon  Samuel 
M'DonnellLan. 
M<  Donnald  Malcolm 
Mf  Dowell  Hugh 
M'Feely  Edward 
M<  Grath  James 
M'liham  Peter 
M'Intire  John 
Mf  Ilwham  Thomas 
Mc  Kay  James 
M<  Karaker  Daniel 
M<  Kenzie  John 
McKeever  john 
Mf  Keever  Neal 
Mf  Kinley  Alexander 
M<  Kiflick  John 
M'  Lachlan  Donald 
Mf  Leod  Malcom 
Mc  Mahon  William 
Mc  Neal  Jolm 
Mc  Neil  John 
W  Nulty  John 
Mc  Phail  William 
Meade  John 
Mearns  James 
ftjee  $amue/ 


MehafFy  Robert 
MefTcnger  Simon 
Meyers  Henry 
Miller  Jacob 
Miller  John 
Miller  Martin 
Miller  Jofeph 
Miller  Robert 
Miller  William 
Miles  Thomas 
Miles  jun.  Samuel 
Miles  Samuel 
Miiner  L. 
Mitchell  Thomas 
Moioy  M.  Chickeley 
Mollry  Adclphus 
Mooney  William 
Moore  William 
Moore  Elifh?, 
Moore  John 
Moore  Alexander 
Moore  Charles 
MorrellJohn 
Morris  John 
Morrifon  George 
Morrifcn  John 
Morgan  Enoch 
Mofer  Low  is  Charles 
Muner  Philip 
Murray  Afc/iiba 


14 


S  U  B  S  C  R  I  B  E  R  S1    NAMES. 


Murray  John,    Cbrifiiana     Murphy  John 


Ferry, .  4  copies. 
Murfin  William 
Murphy  Henry 
Murphy  Michael 
Murphy  Daniel 


Nagle  Maurice 
Nagiee  David 
Napier  Alexander 
Napier  John 
Napier  Thomas 
Naylor  Benjamin 
Neilen  Andrew 
Nicholas  John 


Oat  Jeffe 
O'Brien  Alexander 
O'Brien  Peter 
O'Callaus-han  Maurice 
O'Conner  Myles 
Ogden  John 
Ogden  Hugh 


Mufchert  John 
Mufgrave  Aaron 
Myers  Laurence 
Myers  Jacob 
Mynich  Jacob 


N 


Nixon  Henry 
Norny  Andrew 
Norris  James 
North  John 
North  Richard 
Norton  Jonathan 
Norton  George 
Nowlin  Matthew 


O 


O'Donnell  James 
Oliver  James 
O'Niel  Patrick 
Orr  Hugh 
Oder  Jeremiah 
Otley  Abner,  Wilmington 
D. 


Palmer  Richard 
Pafcalis  Dr. 


Patterfon  Robert 
Pater  ion  John 


S  U  B  S  C  R  I  B '  E  R  S'   N  A  M  E  S.                    r$ 

taaaaa-*  4.  i  iiilu.u  ^.  ■-- ,.^  ..■.„!  ,.L;.^ir,r^. — ■^^^-■■v-^-^-^-*-  '■'.".  j..^ — j-;i_j  utj-w  f  ■«-!»   *flB»  *    .    ^ 

Patterfon  William 

Phillips  Thomas 

Paul  David 

Pierce  John 

Peart  Thomas 

Pierce   Roberc 

Peacock  Ralph 

Piffant  John 

Peden  Hugh 

Pitt  jun.  John 

Peddle  George 

Piatt  William 

Peck  John 

Plin  Jacob 

Peck  William 

Plum  George 

Pennock  George 

Polock  Ifaac 

Penlove  Thomas 

Potts  M.  George 

Penrofe  Charles 

Powell  Ifaac 

Pentland  james 

Powell  William 

Pepper  William 

Prcfton   Thomas,  Wil- 

Perine John 

mington  D. 

Perkinpine  David 

Price  William 

Pete  rfon  Lylof,  Wilming- 

Prieft Ifaac 

ton  D. 

Prichett  R.  William 

Pfeiffer  Jofeph 

Pritchet  j. 

Phillips    William,    mi-. 

Pritchard  D.  James 

mington  D. 

Proveft  Roderick 

Phillips  Daniel 

Punton  Thomas 

Phillips  Naphtali 

Purfil  Jofeph 

Phillips  John 

Q> 


uin  James 


i6 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES. 


Rabfon  George 

Radley  William 

Ramfay  Alexander 

Rain  John,  8  copies 

Randies  James 

Ramage  John 

Rarick  Godfrey 
Rawlings  Thomas,  JVil- 

mingitm>  D. 
Read  George,  New 

Cqfile,  D. 
Read  Charles 
Rehn  Georre 
Rehn  John 
Rees  William 
Rees  David 
Regnaud  A. 
Reid  William 
Reilly  James 
Reilly  John 
Reeve  Eliiha 
Relf  William 
Relfe  Richard 
Rennie  George 
Reynali  S.  Richard 
Rhoads  Charles 
Rhoads  Philip 
Rhonds  John 
Richards  William 
Richards  JeiTe,  WV&ing* 


ton, 


D 


R 

Richardfon  Ifaac 

Richards  Samuel 
Ricketts  John 
Ricketts  James 
Ridgway  David 
Rievier  John 
Rinot  David 
Rink  John 
Rifing  Francis 
Robins  John 
Roberts  George 
Robbins  William 
Robertfon  Alexander 
Robertfon  Charles 
Robertfon  William 
Robefon  James 
Robinfon  Parker 
Robinfon  Richard 
Robinfon  James,  2   co 

pies. 
Robinfon  William 
Robinfon  Henry 
Robinett  Richard 
Rogers  Thomas 
Rogers  William 
Rogers  Maurice 
Rogers  Robert 
Rogers  Eli 
Rolet  Francois 
Rofs  David 
Rofs  Robert 


SUBSCRIBERS'   NAMES. 


i; 


Rowntree  James 

Rowen  John 

Ruddock  William 

Rugdon  John  I 

Sands  John 

Sailor  Henry- 
Sailor  Zachariah 
Savidge  Reuben 
Schmidft  Frederick  Rev. 
Schneider  jun.  Cafper 
Schott  John 
Scott  John 
Scott  David 
Scott  William 
Scot  Robert 
Sears  John 
Seaman  William 
Seckel  Henry 
Sellers  John 

Seyfert  Conrad,  1 1  copies 
Shade  George 
Shaffer  Charles 
Shannon  Thomas 
Sharp  James 
Shaw  Alexander 
Shaw  Thomas 
Shell  Henry- 
Shepherd  William 
Shewelljun.  Robert 
Shoemaker  Jofeph 
Shorten  George 
ShireffWilliam 
Shreeve  John 


Rum  William 
Rum  Benjamin 
RufTel  Edward 

Shull  Frederick 
Shutz  Juftas 
Sigmond  Michael 
Sikes  Henry 
Siminton  George 
Simonton  John 
Simpfon  John 
Simpibn  Thomas 
Sims  John 
Sims  Henry 
Sink  Laurance 
Sink  William 
Skirm  Robert 
Skinner  William 
Skinrick  Adam 
Slack  Daniel 
Sloan  Samuel 
Smiley  William 
Smith  Henry 
Smith  John 
Smith  Jacob 
Smith  Godfrey 
Smith  Matthias 
Smith  John 
Smith  Charles 
Smith  R.  Richard 
Smith  Edward 
Smith  Aaron 
Smith  John 


18 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES, 


Smith  jun.  William 

Smith  Samuel,  Wilming- 
ton, D. 

Smith  James,  Wilming- 
ton, D. 

Smith  Henry,  Wilming- 
ton, D. 

Snowden  Thomas, 

Snyder  John 

Snyder  John 

Snyder  Thomas 

Snyder  William 

Sommervill  James 

Souder  jun.  Charles 

Sowerwalt  Mark 

Spangler  George 

Speelman  John 

Spence  Henry 

Speirs  Thomas 

Stakley  Christian 

Stancliff  John 

Starr  Caleb,  Wilmington, 

Steel  John 

Steel  Stephen 

Steel  William 

Steel  Nicholas 

T 

Tailman  W.  Thomas 

Tage  Benjamin 
Taylor  James 
Taylor  William 
Taylor  Robert 
Taylor  Anthony 


Steen  Robert 
Steintr  Melchior 
Stewart  Robert 
Stewart  James 
Stewart  William 
Stewart  Aaron 
Stiles  Edward 
Stiles  Richard 
Stilwag-o-on  Frederick 
Stimartz  William 
Stirk  James 
Stoaker  John 
Stockton  John,  Wilming- 
ton, D 
Stockard  Conolly 
Stockton  Ifrael 
Stokes  T.  William 
Stout  P.  Jacob 
Stoy  Peter 
Stroop  Jacob 
Strapp  Henry 
Stuart  Ifaac 
Stuart  James 
Summers  Andrew 
Swegors  Eliza 
Symington  Alexander 

Taylor  John,   Wilmington 
Teas  Charles 
Tea  Robert 
Thomas  Henry 
Thomas  Stacy 
Thompfon  Thomas 


19 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES. 


Thompfon  John 
Thompfon  John 
Thompfon  Thomas 
Thompfon  Jofeph 
Thompfjn  R.  Stephen 
Thompfon  M.  K.   Tho. 
Thorburn  James 
Tittermary  Robert 
Tuland  Henry 
Townfend  Henry 

U 
Uftick  W.  Thomas 
Vance  Adam 
Vanderflice  George 
Van  Duftn  Matthew 
Van  Dyke  Nicholas, 

New  Caftk,  D. 
Vandever  William,  Wil- 
mington, D. 
Van  Horn  Benjamin 
Van  Manierck  Anthony 


Townfend  Ifaac 
Traquair  John 
Trautwine  William 
TrefTe  Thomas 
Trump  Daniel 
Tueiien  J. 
Turnbull  Alexander 
Turner  John 
Tuftin  William 
Tybout  R. 
V 
Van  Leuvinigh  William, 

New  Cafile,  D. 
Vanfant  Jofeph 
Vaughn  W. 
Vickars  Thomas 
Vining  Henry 
Vogel  Frederick 
Voight  Henry 
Voight  Sebailian 
Vorter  Robert 


Vanfciver  Jacob 
Wagner  George 
Wagner  Jacob 
Walker  John 
Walker  Charles 
Walker  William 
Walker  George 
Walkinfhan  William 
Wallace  james 
Wallice  Charles 
Wallis  William 
Wallis  Samuel,  ^Filming. 


W 


Walraven  Lucas,  New 

Caftle  D. 
Wajft  John 
Ward  Patrick 
Ware  John 
Warner  Jofeph 
Warthman  Adam 
Waiters  Philip 
Watters  George 
W<v£t  Robert 
Wattles  Henrv 


li 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES. 


20 


Way  George 

Way  John,  Wilmington 

Way  Francis,  Wilmington 

Weaver  Jacob 

Webb  John,  Wilmington 

Webfter  Levi 

Welch  Jonn 

Walldone  David 

Welfn  John 

Wefcot  Kenry 

Weft  Jofiah 

Wheeler  Samuel 

Wiiite  James 

White  Samuel 

White  William 

White  Cliarles 

White  George 

Whitende^  William 

Whitehead  Wiiliam 


Wilkfnfon  J.  B. 

Williams  William 

Willis  I. 

Willis  Samuel 

WjJ&n  James 

Wilfon  James 

Wilfon  James 

Wilfon  John 

Wilfoo  John 

Wilfon  John 

Wilfon  George 

Wilfon  E.  Let. 

Wilfon  John,  Wilmington, 

Wonderly  Jacob 

Were  John 

Woglom  Abraham 

Wood  Mansfield 

Woodruff  Smith 

"Worth  James 


Wills  Jeremiah,  Wilming.     Wonderly  William 


Whitaker  James 
Widdifield  William 
Wiley  }ohvLyNewCeftle  D. 
Williams  Zenas 
Wilkinfon  Thomas    . 


Worrell  Ifaiah 
Wright  Wiiliam 
WrenfhaH  John 
Wriaht  Malcom 


Yard  Jeffe  Yeager  John 

Yard  William  Young  Charles, 

Young  John,  New  Caftle,     Young  William 

Z 
Zane  Samuel  Zemerman  Chriftophcr 

Zugier  Dellman  Zeller  Jacob,  6  copies. 


717.3      t331 


30681 


*•  tt*s. 


3 


